Cursing Allowed

George Carlin is turning over in his grave; his 7 words you can't say on TV can now be said on TV! "A federal appeals court struck down a Federal Communications Commission policy on indecency Tuesday, saying that regulations barring the use of “fleeting expletives” on radio and television violated the First Amendment because they were vague and could inhibit free speech." While this ruling will most likely reach a higher court, it temporarily allows poor language to be used.

And you know what I say - hooray! It is time for a bit of self-regulation. Have we lost our way in the polite way to speak. Sure there are those that only know curse and need to populate each other word in their sentences with one; but for others, the English language holds unlimited word choices to convey our emotions, attitudes, and desires. And let the consumer and economy determine whether they will listen to poor language or not. These curse words will never go away. But we can make a conscious choice in our behavior, especially on TV and radio, not to lean on them too heavily. Do we really need government regulation to be the judge? If you don't like what you are seeing or hearing, turn the dial or the channel. That is ultimately how you can shape content.

Can Apple Face A PR Nightmare

First, Apple admits to antenna issues with the iPhone 4; then Steve Jobs comes out with a silly fix - hold the phone differently. Now Consumer Reports comes out with its findings on the phone and gives it a thumbs down. "Consumer Reports has confirmed in its own tests that there is a problem with the iPhone 4’s reception and thus does not recommend the device." How will Apple handle this situation? Do they proceed as if everything is fine or do they offer to provide a free case to every customer. And what do they do with their next version to correct their problem.

And will this negative review hurt the Apple brand and ultimately the share price? As we have learned in the past, a quick response with corrective action is the best move. Sweeping the problem under the rug never works. Let's hope Apple speaks up soon!

Content vs Distribution Fighting Again - Should They Really Merge

On Wednesday, AT&T U-Verse license deals with Rainbow Media will expire. Rainbow, who owns cable networks AMC, WE tv, IFC, Sundance, and others, may be dropped from the channel line-up if renewal agreements are not approved. But that is not the only story in town. ABC/Disney is also negotiating carriage renewal agreements for both its broadcast channel and its cable networks with Time Warner Cable. And rather than sit back and watch, Verizon is taking a proactive competitive stance to woo customers, assuming channels will be dropped. "In a move that underscored the shifting nature of these Big TV brawls, Verizon ads warned consumers that Time Warner’s contract with Disney — supplier of ESPN, ABC and Disney Channel — expires on Sept. 2. Referring to ABC’s dispute with Cablevision in March, when millions of viewers were deprived of part of the Oscars, the ads asked people to pre-emptively switch to Verizon’s FiOS service." How Bold!

Now these two negotiations are being aired in public light just as Comcast and NBC are negotiating their merger with the FCC and DOJ. Are content and distribution meant to live under the same roof? Does enabling such cohabitation hurt other relationships? How can NBC negotiate a fair deal with Time Warner, Verizon, AT&T, and others, when it is owned by a fellow cable company. What is the fair market price? Who gets hurt more, the shareholder or the customer?

These public negotiations allow consumers to see that any license fee increase will raise the subscription price of the cable service. Cable companies will not swallow the increase and reduce its profit margin. So when the negotiations are internal, who knows what the fair market price becomes. How can the other distributors be sure they are negotiating a fair market rate? Are we heading down the path where Verizon will need to buy a broadcast network in order to compete on level ground with Comcast? Does Time Warner buy a third network? And does AT&T buy the fourth. Four mega-content and distribution companies controlling media, what is released and where. Is this the direction the FCC and DOJ want to go? It is the slippery slope that comes into greater focus when content and distribution companies negotiate their license deals by the light of the day.

Will Cable Subscription Prices Drop?

As the media moguls socialize this week in Sun Valley, one inkling of cable news has emerged. "Cable operators and entertainment companies are talking about selling cheaper cable TV packages with fewer channels to attract and keep customers trying to save money in a weak economy." What, lower prices for cable. Ahhh, lower prices for less channels. But do cable agreements allow them to move networks off the lowest tier and create a new basic level of service. For some networks, programming license fees could rise should actual subscription as a percentage of total basic homes drop below a certain level. That could lead to higher programmer fees per unit. Would cable really want to be charged higher license fees?

So while this rumor sounds interesting, I doubt it can truly happen. If cable companies lower their cable pricing, then it will be used to protect their subscriber base from cord cutting and other competition. Lower profit margin from cable, higher from broadband and phone. Isn't that what the triple play bundle is all about.

Sirius XM's 2Q Subscriber Base at Record High

Sirius is showing signs of recovery. As car sales grow, so too do Sirius customers. They had one of their best quarters in a long while. "The satellite radio company ended the second quarter with a record 19,527,448 subscribers, marking an increase of more than 1.1 million subscribers since June 30, 2009." That is more than a half a million customer adds in the last quarter. Sirius is revising third quarter growth estimates higher as a result.

While I am not a Sirius customer, I am a Sirius stockholder. I remain cautious given the growth in wireless and the ease of bringing mobile devices like blackberries, ipods, ipads, and others into the car. Since these devices receive internet radio, why buy a Sirius subscription. As sports, music, and news are just as easily received through these devices, will the customer prefer to buy content for a mobile device that can go into the car. That remains the bigger challenge for Sirius to overcome.

Tivo Adds Another Cable Partnership

While Tivo patiently waits for Comcast and Cox to make Tivo its primary DVR partner, it has found another friend with Suddenlink. "Suddenlink, the eighth-largest MSO in the U.S. with 1.2 million basic video subs, will offer TiVo Premiere DVRs as well as non-DVR set-tops from TiVo." Great news for Suddenlink customers to get more functionality and easier controls from their settop box and for Tivo to get further into the cable model. Add Suddenlink to the DVR list that includes Direct TV, RCN, as well as other international operators.

At the same time, Tivo continues to fight the patent issues with Dish along with recent suits against Verizon and AT&T. I'm excited to see Tivo grow and only wish that my own cable provider would bring the Tivo technology into their settop box.

Wall Street Journal King of Digital Media

Talk about adapting to the digital age. While some newspapers and magazines look backwards at how wonderful the past was and "if only" we could relive the good old days, others are embracing new media. The Wall Street Journal leads that category. Unlike others, they resisted giving too much away for free and were quick to institute a subscription model for the web. It is that forethought that has led them to success in the e-book platform. "The Wall Street Journal has by far the highest e-reader circulation of any newspaper in the U.S., according to Audit Bureau of Circulations data cited in a recent report by the World Association of Newspapers. The Journal had sold 414,025 e-subscriptions as of April 2010, up 8% from 383,199 in April 2009." The New York Times is at #3, but their digital e-book circulation is one-fifth that of WSJ.

In addition, WSJ is leading in iPad apps as well. "As we've recently reported, The Journal is killing it in the iPad department, with more than 10,000 subscriptions sold, and $2.4 million in revenue generated from them, as of June. The Journal's iPad app costs $17.99/month. The Times' is free." Seems like a heckuva subscription revenue model that will only grow as the iPad becomes more universally embraced.

Something for magazines to pay attention to as well. The WSJ model is working and it is time to duplicate their success.

VOD Price Wars

Cable has more than Redbox and Netflix to worry about. Now they have Dish getting more aggressive with lower pricing for hit movies. "Through July 7, the No. 2 DBS provider is offering the following films on Dish Cinema for 99 cents: Alice in Wonderland, She's Out of My League, Green Zone and Hot Tub Time Machine. The movies are presented in the standard- and high-definition formats, with Green Zone and Hot Tub Time Machine available weeks before they are available on Netflix and Redbox, according to Dish officials."

Should cable worry? Is Dish setting precedent for lower pricing for first run VOD? Or is this just a temporary break and won't make a ripple in viewership or cable subscription.

Apple TV Coming Back

Plenty of buzz from unnamed sources but no official word on the next iteration of Apple TV. What is also speculated is that Apple must gear itself for a less memory-centric model and move to a cloud computing world where info is centralized and not kept in individual devices. "So it’s almost certain that an iOS / A4-based Apple TV is on the horizon, but it will only be ready once Apple completely revamps iTunes for the cloud." Is that in the clouds or the next reality?

For me, the Apple TV device should connect with the cable box to extend its range and value and bring the internet to the TV and TV to Apple devices in the home. A server of sorts that can talk to iPads, iPhones, iMacs, etc. Sharing shows, videos, movies, calendars, and more. And making the cable set top box easier to navigate, working behind the TV and not in plane view.

What does Steve Jobs have planned for Apple TV? It seems something is coming.