Martin on the Run? Random Notes
Would be nice, I suppose; but not really likely.
Distracted, though.
Someone will have to review all that paper that's been requested.
Maybe.
I don't know of any certain way to get rid of him until after January 20, 2009.
And unless Feb 17, 2009 somehow becomes an election issue, the super pressure on the Commission won't happen until after that date.
And then, well, I can't wait. This isn't going to be the snoozer that was Y2K.
But the reports last week about Congress' fishing expeditions at the Federal Confusion Commission should put a little bit more pressure on the boyish but ruthless Chairman.
It'll be entertaining, anyway. Who did what for whom and why whoever did what for whom or what purpose and even when… and so on.
So far there's been an almost entire newspaper page on the Chairman's vendetta against the cable industry ( USA Today last week) along with a list of his “initiatives.”
I'll bet there will be more to come as the suits start going against the Commission (again) on the subscriber caps and more.
For now, we'll stay saddled with the worst FCC Chairman in modern history.
* Fast! The newspaper and blog noise about Internet capacity crunches as video traffic on the Internet accelerates seems strange in that the management of the networks is rarely mentioned in that context. Instead, “blocking” gets trumpeted in the stories about so called “net neutrality.” Are different reporters assigned to those stories? Wonder if they ever talk? And I wonder if, as might happen, the US government decides that the owners and builders of the Internet infrastructure cannot “manage” the networks for the benefit of all users, and mandates that capacities get expanded… well, suppose the government might subsidize the upgrades? (That's a joke, folks).
* ” Usual Nightmare”: That's what IAC's Barry Diller wrote, in an email to Jack Welch, about working with Dr. John Malone. Then, there's the ” Maffei Effect.” “Brain Damage.” And more. Would make a great documentary for the Discovery Channel: “When Moguls Melt.”
* Discover Hendricks In Flight? Sort of. An interview with John Hendricks is featured in the March issue of United Airline's Hemisphere Magazine… and he says, “Media will work on people's schedules rather than the other way around… And people want to be closer to reality viewing experiences–high definition will sweep the planet.”
* Defining High Definition? What is it? Who's got what? Is it really hi-def? Is HD the real battlefield? Will it trump the bundle? Retailers sell it… but do they really sell it right? DISH has VOD… and DirecTV is about to launch VOD… all in hi-def, of course. Most MSO-owned cable systems carry HD feeds in the high 30s or so (some more, some less; not any at the DBS level–yet). DirecTV, for its part, has done one heck of a job dominating the numbers game–so far.
Cable, especially Comcast, has begun citing HD VOD availability in an apples vs oranges numbers game. So who does have what? And are the HD channels really HD? Take a look at www.whereishd.com and find out. It even includes over-the-air high definition local broadcasts.www.whereishd.com