NBC U Calls for Net Piracy Crackdown
Media Giant to FCC: Forget Net Neutrality
By Ted Hearn -- Multichannel News, 6/15/2007 1:02:00 PM
NBC Universal said Friday that the U.S. government must crack down on Internet copyright infringement by ordering broadband-access providers to help stem the tide of pirated content.
“The [Federal Communications Commission] should make unmistakably clear, as part of its regulations governing broadband-industry practices, that broadband-service providers have an obligation to use readily available means to prevent the use of their broadband capacity to transfer pirated content, especially when such use represents huge percentages of their capacity and reduces the quality of service to other subscribers,” NBC U said, protesting what it described as rampant content piracy by no more than 5% of users.
NBC U’s comment came in the opening round of FCC comments designed to inform the agency on whether cable, phone and other providers of high-speed-Internet access use their gatekeeper status in ways that would justify adoption of so-called net-neutrality regulation.
Instead of focusing on net neutrality and its “polarizing rhetoric,” NBC U said the FCC should its leverage to punish the hijacking of intellectual property.
“It is inconceivable that the U.S. government would stand by mutely and permit any other legitimate U.S. business to be hijacked in this fashion. Would the government permit Federal Express or UPS to knowingly operate delivery services in which 60%-70% of the payload consisted of contraband, such as illegal drugs or stolen goods? The answer is no, and it should be no different for the Internet,” NBC U said.
The FCC could, NBC U added, require cable broadband providers to forward “notices to customers who have been identified as infringers” or use “increasingly sophisticated bandwidth-management tools as and when they come online.”
In the FCC filing, NBC U said that in 2005, Internet movie piracy alone led to a $20.5 billion reduction in total annual output by the affected industries, including $6.1 billion in “direct losses” by the motion-picture studios.
“A failure by the [FCC] to mandate the deployment of such measures is bad public policy -- bad for legitimate businesses, bad for the networks that comprise the Internet and bad for law-abiding consumers who are being deprived of the Internet access they have paid for,” the media giant added.
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Why is NBC U worried about piracy when they employ Steve Capus and Dan Abrams, a couple of first class race baiters and incompetent managers? In the wake of NBC's, MSNBC's, Al Sharpton's, Al Roker's, and Jessie Jackson's decision to fire Don Imus for his racial insensitivity to black women on the Rutgers basketball team, ABC News has steadily climbed in the News ratings. MSNBC in the morning is a joke since Imus left. NBC is not faring very well in any other business, as well. Whatever traction that they may have had in the news area is gone. The slippery slope of deceit and political expedience has taken its toll.
Broadcasting is a business. It requires leadership (whatever that means-I guess we could all go out and buy a Jack Welch book, or something). Every NBC on air personality and half of the broadcast managers were on Imus constantly. Jesus, Jack Welch used to come on. Al Roker was on Imus for many years. How bad could Don Imus have been? They all watched, participated and said nothing until the lynch mob saw an opening for personal attention through self serving outrage. People switching to Fox and Friends and Charles Gibson know this. The fact is this situation should have been managed. There was no reason to fire Imus right off the bat. MSNBC imposed a two week cooling off period, during which this could have been resolved in a rational fashion, one way or the other. I personally feel that the Rutgers Women’s Basketball Team had it right. Instead, Abrams was forced by Capus into capitulating to Al Sharpton, Al Roker, and Jessie Jackson without thought or careful consideration. Capus had to beat the Rutgers Women’s Basketball Team/Imus meeting timetable, and also tried to cut off the Imus charity drive. Luckily the former MSNBC viewers prevented Capus from ruining the charity drive by giving in record amounts, and the Rutgers Women refused to have their dignity stifled by Capus’ feebleminded grandstanding.
The people that agreed with NBC’s ill conceived rush to judgment and Al Roker’s, Al Sharpton’s and Jessie Jackson’s lynch mob mentality don’t watch the news. They don’t watch cable news and they don’t watch network news. People I talk to are pissed off, and that’s not going to go away anytime soon. I’m not trying to detract from ABC’s success, but our viewing choices are narrowing. Why does GE let these incompetents worry about piracy when their own race baiting is costing GE a fortune?
Billy Grasso - 6/21/2007 1:33:00 PM EDT -
The Rev. Jessie Jackson made some promises and some comments during the Duke Lacrosse lynching that he hasn't kept (nor does he have an inclination of keeping). John Ridley has been trying to get a response from Jessie Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition on when they are going to make good (they are already 2 months overdue) on these promises. The Rainbow Coalition is refusing to respond. They are stuffing the e-mailbox that Mr. Ridley was told to use so that it will reject his e-mail. This is an old Al Sharpton tactic that he uses when he does something horrible (sorry e-mail box full). Capus and Abrams are now up against it again, and I think, if they fight this, or if they fight John Ridley, people should boycott GE on every level. Its one thing to hide Al Roker, who, if held to his own standard, should have been fired long ago. They are going to be under considerabl pressure from Tim Russert and others to protect Jackson (and subsequently protect Obama).
Alex Grace - 6/21/2007 12:42:00 PM EDT -
The industry needs to understand that piracy is not the only thing that is leading to "loss of revenue" in pure numbers alone.
There are MANY factors that contribute to this. If they are ''estimating'' their $20+ billion loss of revenue (as in the decline alone) to piracy, this just shows the scape-goat mentality of many businesses today.
Some of the decline in revenue could also be directly related to:
- higher gas prices leading to less extra-spending
- Poorer quality movies being made by the studios *
- The backlash from the public who view celebrities as irresponsible spoiled brats who make too much money.
- The internet, in general, as another form of entertainment.
- People who would rather wait for PPV or Cable to show the movie.
- The economy slowing for the lower and middle class who happen to be the ones who go to the movies in the first place.
- Any other number of reasons...
I know it''s hard for ''executives'' to understand this bit of information, but while all may be well in ''their world'', in the REAL world, many people are having troubles.
Milk is going up $2 per gallon, gas - do I need to say? cereal is going up in price as is meat and other staples.
What don''t the movie execs get? The internet is not the evil of all for them.
I''m tired of heading them find every reason why their industry is failing and not even look to themselves as well.
20 billion? and another 6 billion? C''mon, big execs, pull your head out of The Matrix for a moment and stop trying to blame the internet for your own short coming.
The rest of us in the world don''t necessarily buy your smoke screen while you continue to fight to control ever ounce of data transmission. You did the same thing with the Beta, the VHS, the Laser Disc, the DVD, and now the internet.
Are you really trying to win the public back by threatening them?
Change your course!
* the junk you''re making today may have nice effects, but you''ve lost your mind in the quality.
John Q Public - 6/18/2007 1:39:00 AM EDT
