HHR New Media, Entertainment and Technology Group

With all of the attention “TV Everywhere” is getting, it is not surprising that the most recent scrutiny is coming from public interest groups that are claiming the TV Everywhere platform (under which cable providers will offer their subscribers access to the content on screens outside of their homes) presents significant antitrust concerns.   Just two weeks after Comcast launched X-Finity, its version of TV Everywhere, several public interest groups petitioned the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate perceived antitrust violations.  Free Press, Media Access Project, Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America and New America Foundation’s Open Technology Initiative are among those who have asserted that the TV Everywhere model is anticompetitive because it  will cause a rise in prices, divide markets, tie products and threaten new competition.   Continue Reading »

The latest in our on-going series of CLE-accredited Webinars will focus on the critical legal and business issues and questions raised by the emerging phenomenon of “TV Everywhere,” a digital platform agnostic solution that promises to enable pay TV subscribers online access to their programming wherever they may consume it via an Internet enabled device. Our team will address topics including:

• Methodologies to authenticate subscribers and the technological burdens of implementing such authentication methodologies;
• Protection of personally identifiable information (PII) of subscribers and controlling access to such subscriber PII;
• Impact of the FCC’s proposed “net neutrality” rules on TV Everywhere initiatives; and
• Potential business models and revenue opportunities for stakeholders, including revenue streams from enhanced subscription fees, premium advertising fees, etc.

The one-hour Webinar will also feature “live chat” functionality to enable viewers to ask questions and comment on the presentation in real-time. Presentation materials will be available for download.

The Webinar will be held on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. EST. To register, click here.

A highly classified house ethics committee report outlining inquiries involving dozens of members of Congress was recently leaked over the Internet after a junior committee staff member saved it on the hard drive of his home computer, on which he happened to have peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing software installed.  There is no evidence the staffer intended the report, which detailed investigations that included financial dealings, travel and campaign donations, to be shared with other P2P software users around the world.  But in an official attempt to combat such leaks, US Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), an avid critic of self-regulation of P2P software use, recently introduced a new bill titled The Secure Federal File Sharing Act.  Continue Reading »

On December 17, we will be presenting “TV Everywhere – Is It Everywhere You Want to Be?”, the latest in our continuing series of free, CLE accredited webinars.  During the program, we will be taking a closer look at “TV Everywhere” (TVE), the fledgling initiative under which cable operators and other pay TV providers propose to make their programming–which was, up until now, available only on TV and by subscription–available online to subscribers via any internet-connected device.  Continue Reading »

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently opened an inquiry into Google Voice, the popular messaging and call service offered by Google, and Google’s practice of blocking certain calls.   The inquiry was prompted by complaints from AT&T to the FCC accusing Google of unfairly blocking calls to certain numbers in rural areas where local phone companies charge high connections fees.  A bipartisan group of 20 Congressional members also submitted a letter asking the FCC to open an investigation into Google’s voice application.  Continue Reading »