Gary Arlen's blog

Watch This: More Evidence of Online Video Ad Acceptance

By: Gary Arlen Feb 15 2013 - 5:40pm

 

Two online viewing reports published this week agree that online video viewing – including acceptance of video advertising and a boom in mobile access – blasted off in 2012. The upward trends are expected to continue to draw viewership away from traditional TV delivery in the coming year.

“Future of TV”: Friend or Competitor?

By: Gary Arlen Feb 5 2013 - 3:50pm

 

Whenever the first words of a television commercial include “the future of television,” I pay attention, curious to see what someone in “the industry” is telling viewers what they’ll be watching someday soon.

Satellite Data Reseller Withdraws Slam at Cable Broadband Policy and People

By: Gary Arlen Feb 1 2013 - 8:01pm

Editor’s Note:  This is an updated version of a blog posted on January 31.  The author has  confirmed that the infographic was created and posted by an independent HughesNet distributor in Florida which mistakenly used a HughesNet logo with its ad integrated into sales message at the bottom of the Website.  The company’s president told the author that the “The State of the Internet in the US Infographic” was not authorized or even seen in advance by HughesNet or its parent company EchoStar, and that the site, which debuted on January 30, would be

Revenue Model Piece of the Action?

By: Gary Arlen Jan 20 2013 - 12:59pm

Now that there’s been time to reflect on the CES aftermath, it’s more perplexing than ever.

Heading out to CES a couple weeks ago, over-the-top TV and its variations weighed heavily on my mind. We knew that TV makers were going to embed more video apps into their “smart TVs” and that Intel was planning to introduce a set-top box for its own streaming content service, despite initial problems in licensing programs from studios.  

NCTA’s Agenda Branches Out As Year Ends

By: admin Dec 21 2012 - 5:13pm

NCTA is having a busy month, including a major White House initiative and expectations that the Congressional lame duck session will include action on a major bill with a potential $2 billion impact on the industry. It calls the current legislation “the single most important piece of … policy legislation and needs to be negotiated and approved by Congress every five years.”

Soothsayers Eye 2013 Broadband Agenda

By: Gary Arlen Dec 19 2012 - 10:48pm

 

 ‘Tis the season for think-tanks and prognosticators – plus political analysts and operatives – to prioritize the Internet outlook for the coming year.   This week has been particularly fertile, with webinars and seminal seminars about the state of the broadband industry, both domestic and global. 

Cable Nets Prepare to Become Masters

By: Gary Arlen Dec 12 2012 - 3:25pm

Cable networks, including ones owned by CBS, Time Warner and Scripps Networks, plus program producers and multichannel video program distributors, will find out next week if they can brand their Web businesses with their own Internet domain names. Viewers may find out by mid-2013 if the new “generic Top Level Domains” (gTLDs) will be used to deliver Internet-broadband video, including over-the-top shows and networks.

Magid Report Urges Standards for Simulscreen Advertising

By: Gary Arlen Dec 6 2012 - 6:46pm

For the two-screen advertising vision to have any chance of success – a high priority among many cable operators and networks – there must be a uniform standard, ideally managed by an outside source, according to a report issued on Dec. 6 by research firm Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.

Retransmission Consent Policy Making in 2013 Unlikely

By: Gary Arlen Dec 4 2012 - 8:30am

It’s gratifying when an hour-long discussion about the contentious issue of retransmission consent concludes with unanimous agreement from broadcast and cable lawyers.

The title of the Nov. 30 webinar was “Is 2013 the Year for a Revolution in Retransmission Consent Rules?”  Ultimately, all parties said, “No.” 

Cable Questions Broadcasters’ Plan to Push Interactive Triggers

By: Gary Arlen Nov 29 2012 - 3:04pm

In about a month, the Advanced Television Systems Committee will issue a “candidate standard” for broadcast triggers – tiny bits of code embedded into the TV video stream that will tell smart TV sets to open an app or enable some other interactive function.

The cable industry is not thrilled about the plan.

Andy Scott, vice president-engineering at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, wonders if “this is the right way to deliver triggers to receiving devices.”

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