Michael's Insight

Insight and Raycom agree on three year extension

I'm thrilled to report that Insight and Raycom Media have reached an agreement to continue to deliver Raycom's WAVE in Louisville, WFIE in Evansville and WXIX in Northern Kentucky to Insight's customers. 

Both companies decided to put customers first by avoiding an interruption in programming, and signed a compromise deal that will guarantee Raycom carriage on Insight's systems for three more years.

Too often, recently, we have seen retransmission negotiations between broadcasters and other cable operators break down, leading to a programming blackout. I applaud Raycom for working with us to reach a win-win solution for our customers who also are their viewers.

 

Logitech says it continues to produce Google TV device

Logitech says Google hasn't asked it to halt Google TV production [EngadgetHD]

Even though it has been reported by the New York Times that Google has asked some television manufacturers to hold up their plans to unveil TVs powered by Google TV at next month's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the company that makes the only Google TV set-top box claims that reports it has also been asked by Google to stop production are not true. The Times' report indicated that Google asked for the CES delay in order to make updates to Google TV.

Google TV is the search giant's attempt to merge traditional television with broadband video in an Android-based operating system for televisions and set-tops. Logitech and Sony were Google's first device partners for Google TV, and are expected to be joined in the coming months by a number of other TV manufacturers.

For its part, Logitech indicates that any updates to Google TV on its Revue set-top can be pushed to the device via its broadband connection, so there's not a need to halt production to load a new version of the software.

U.S. House of Representatives planning to allow mobile devices into the chamber for the first time

Proposed U.S. House Rules Welcome (Quiet) Mobile Devices to the Floor [TechPresident]

With the U.S. House of Representatives changing party control next month, many changes in the internal rules of the chamber are likely to take place. One proposed change that's receiving attention is a plan to allow mobile devices - smartphones and tablet computers - onto the House floor for the first time. Currently, members of Congress aren't allowed to use the devices on the floor. That means no mobile emailing during a roll call vote or reading an amendment on an iPad during debate.

The proposed change in the rule would slightly tweak the mobile device ban, prohibiting devices that "impairs decorum." The new House leadership plans to interpret that change to allow mobile devices so long as ringers are placed on silent so that they do not interrupt the House proceedings.

This change in the rules will give our representatives access to the technology that is often taken for granted in the conduct of business in the private sector. No longer will members need to move off the floor to use technology to read up on a bill or receive an important email from staff or constituents. 

NCTA reveals just 5,000 CableCARDs deployed after rule change 3 months ago

MSOs Deployed Just 5,000 Standalone CableCards In Last Three Months [Multichannel News]

Last Wednesday, the National Cable Telecommunications Association (NCTA), the cable industry's trade association, filed some numbers with the FCC regarding the CableCARD. The NCTA's filing showed that only 5,000 standalone CableCARDs had been deployed by the top 10 cable operators in the country, which includes Insight, over the past three months. To date, a total of only 536,000 have been deployed by these operators. While standalones are on the decline, over 25 million CableCARD-enabled set-top boxes have been deployed since July of 2007.

The CableCARD rules were adopted by the FCC in an attempt to spur competition in the cable device market at the retail level. But, that hasn't happened, and in October the FCC decided to make changes aimed to create the competition that didn't take with the first version of the rule.

One addition the FCC made in October to the CableCARD rules was the inclusion of a self-install rule, whereby consumers could order CabelCARDs and self-install them into boxes they purchased somewhere other than through their service provider. According these latest numbers, it doesn't appear that many customers are taking advantage of that rule.

The NCTA has aggressively pushed for the set-top integration rule, which requires cable operators to integrate CableCARD, to be lifted, particularly since the FCC is attempting to adopt a new requirement (named AllVid) that would supersede CableCARDs, creating a standardized format for video transfer across all cable, satellite and telecom video providers along with integrated broadband video. The AllVid plan would require all operator-supplied devices, whether they are set-tops, gateways, or something else, to support standardized platforms by the end of 2012.

Online purchases soar during 2010 holiday season

Online holiday shopping bumps up [CNET News]

Delivering good news for the economy but challenging news for brick and mortar stores, MasterCard's SpendingPulse indicates that online shopping for the holiday season in 2010 increased 15.4 percent over last year for the period of October 31 to December 24. Those numbers are a reflection of what consumers are spending with their MasterCards supplemented with survey responses for non-MasterCard purchases. The sector with the top online sales growth for the 2010 holiday period was apparel sales.

During the window, MasterCard tracked six days where online sales exceed $1 billion. There were only half as many billion-dollar-days recorded for online sales during the 2009 holiday shopping period. 

comScore, which also measures online shopping, posted a more modest but still impressive 12 percent increase for 2010 over 2009 for the days between November 1 and December 20. However, the web analytics firm said that during the last weekend before Christmas, online sales jumped 17 percent year-over-year. 

Facebook passes Yahoo! as third most visited site on the web

Facebook Gets More Views Than Yahoo, ComScore Says [All Facebook]

Here's an interesting fact to ponder next time you're checking out what's happening with your Facebook friends and happen to glance over to the ads that appear on the far right column of the site: one out of every four display ads on the web is served up by Facebook. That's largely due to the site's popularity, in terms of unique users and total pages served. According to comScore's latest monthly tally, Facebook just jumped over Yahoo! as the third most popular destination on the web, logging some 648 million unique visitors during November.

In October, comScore showed a virtual tie between Yahoo! and Facebook with 633 million uniques apiece. Last month, Yahoo! fell to 630 million visitors, while Google came in first place with 970 million and Microsoft took second with 869 million. 

If Facebook's growth rate continues at the current pace, Microsoft might be eyeing the popular search engine in its rear-view mirror this time next year. 

DVR users watching more TV

DVR Users Watch More TV, Just Not Live TV [GigaOM]

Nielsen has churned out some new data and this batch includes some interesting insight into DVR users.  The report is good news for all those who feared that DVRs would end up cutting down on the amount of time spent watching commercials.

Nielsen’s data shows that roughly 40 percent of homes in the U.S. have a DVR, and a growing percentage of the overall TV viewing audience comes from those DVR homes.  Nielsen reported that TV watchers with a DVR watch more primetime TV than non-DVR users when you take into account delayed DVR playback.  In fact, adding delayed DVR viewing gave ratings a 7.87 point jump in DVR households.

Though that group of DVR users has a higher rating, they are generally considered less valuable to TV execs who are concerned with users’ ability to fast-forward through commercials.  However, Nielsen has found that within three days of air time, DVR playback actually adds an impressive 44 percent boost to commercial ratings, meaning that people are only fast-forwarding through about half of all ads when they watch recorded programs.

Majority of American homes now have an HDTV

Most U.S. Households Now Have An HDTV [Multichannel News]

According to a recent survey by Leichtman Research Group 61 percent of American homes have at least one HDTV. More than a quarter of homes (26 percent) have multiple HDTV sets.

Leichtman conducted a similar survey in 2005 and at that time only 12 percent of households had an HDTV and a mere one percent had multiple sets. While a good deal of this increase can be attributed to high definition programming becoming more prevalent in the marketplace, another reason for the increase has been the drastic decrease in price. In 2010, 60 percent of HDTV buyers spent less than $1,000. In 2009, 48 percent spent under $1,000, and in 2008 that number was only 34 percent.

Another interesting finding of this research was the lack of interest in 3DTV.  Not even one percent of households currently have a 3DTV.  Not unexpected, but the problematic data for 3DTV is that, although 80% of those surveyed had heard of 3DTV, only 8 percent are very interested in getting a set capable of delivering it.

Here's a head-scratcher, the average household income of those who were very interested in 3DTV was 18 percent below the average household income of the entire sample.

Leichtman’s data is from a survey of 1,308 adults across the U.S.

Retransmission deal not yet done between Insight and Raycom stations

I have written many times about retransmission consent negotiations between broadcasters and cable and satellite companies.  We closely followed the dispute between Fox and Cablevision which resulted in Fox pulling their local channels off of Cablevision's systems in New York during Major League Baseball's playoffs and World Series.

Recently three stations owned by Raycom Media have been running a crawl at the bottom of the TV screen informing their viewers that they are in negotiations with Insight for continued carriage of WAVE in Louisville, WXIX in Northern Kentucky and WFIE in Evansville.  If an agreement is not reached by December 31, Raycom will decide if it is willing to temporarily extend our license to carry their stations or to order us to drop them until we agree on the terms of that carriage.

Although Insight has never dropped any TV signals because of failing to reach an agreement with a broadcaster – and will not drop any of Raycom’s stations from our lineup - the possibility exists that Raycom may pull their signal from our customers. However, we’ll continue to negotiate with them to reach a fair deal for our customers and we’ll keep you updated on all the latest information at our website, www.LetsKeepItOn.com, so please feel free to check back often.

Google asks manufacturers to shelve Google TV at CES

Google TV Faces Delays Amid Poor Reviews [New York Times]

We're only days away from the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held in Las Vegas. It’s the time of year many tech companies choose to unveil their latest and greatest products. It was expected that many television manufacturers would be showing off their new sets that, like the Sony TVs released earlier this year, would be equipped with Google TV. Toshiba, LG, and Sharp had all been rumored to be ready to release their own Google TVs, but those releases have now been delayed.

The New York Times reports that Google has asked the TV manufacturers to hold off on launching their new Google TV-equipped sets. Apparently, Google wants to refine its software and make some significant changes first. Since its release earlier this fall, Google TV reviews have been lukewarm at best with many observers unimpressed with Google TV’s software and interface.

Google has a history of releasing products early in a beta version and revising them along the way – a much different approach than Apple takes with its products. Even Android, which has since become a success, had plenty of flaws in its original incarnation.

But Google is also entering uncharted territory with Google TV. Google has never really been involved in the consumer electronics industry. In many ways, it’s a much trickier industry than Google is used to. One major reason this industry could be more problematic for Google is that it is heavily partnership-based. Google hasn’t had to manage many relationships with electronics partners or content producers.

With the exception of mobile companies that partner with Android, Google handles the majority of its products on its own. With Google TV, Google has had to deal with the multiple television and device manufacturers. Google also has to develop relationships with programmers, which have yet to take off as all major U.S. broadcasters have blocked Google TV from accessing their online video.

FCC passes network neutrality proposal

FCC Adopts First Open Internet Regulations [Multichannel News]

Today the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to pass a compromise network neutrality proposal. The issue of net neutrality has been on the Commission's agenda for several years, and today's action marks

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has worked for several months to draft the compromise action that took place today. Along with Genachowski, Commissioners Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn voted in favor of the net neutrality proposal.

Genachowski's proposal has avoided the issue of broadband reclassification from Title I to Title II, which had been advocated by certain interest groups favoring a tight regulatory approach to net neutrality. Under the proposal, wireline broadband providers will be required to allow users to access all legal Internet content, however there would be an acceptance of flexibility for providers to allow them to manage their networks, specifically in the interest of reducing network congestion. Providers will be required to disclose their management practices to their broadband customers.

Wireless providers will have more flexibility in their network management practices, but ultimately wireless broadband customers will have access to all web sites and VOIP services that compete with wireless providers.

Today's action is the result of a compromise between broadband providers and consumer interest groups. As a result, both sides had to give up ground to reach agreement. However imperfect this rule making may be, Chairman Genachowski's leadership and the Commission's action is to be applauded. Rather than letting this critical issue continue to linger, they rolled up their sleeves and forged a set of rules that will give broadband users the comfort of knowing that they will continue to have open access to the Internet while providing ISPs the ability to continue innovation.

Online ad revenues outpace newspapers for first time

Web Ad Dollars Finally Overtake Newspapers [All Things D]

It was only a matter of time, but it seems that by the end of this year, web ad dollars will exceed newspaper ad dollars for the first time.

According to eMarketer, $25.8 billion will have been spent on ad dollars in 2010, while newspaper ad dollars will reach $25.7 billion. Three billion of the newspapers’ $25.7 billion come from online newspaper advertisements. That number is up from $2 billion in 2005, while the print portion of newspaper ads has dropped drastically from $47.4 billion in 2005 to $22.8 billion in 2010.

Online ads, on the other hand, continue their steady growth from $22.9 billion in 2009 to the $25.8 figure projected for 2010. In fact, eMarketer projects online ad dollars to break $40 billion by 2014.

Of course, Google's revenues are a significant part of this picture, since eMarketer’s data includes search ads. Roughly 40 percent of eMarketer’s ad revenue forecast can be attributed to Google. In fact, Google is projected to reach worldwide revenue of $28.8 billion this year, which would singlehandedly eclipse the U.S. newspaper business.

One quarter of gamers watch online video via a console

1/4 Of Game Console Owners Watch Broadband Video [Broadband Reports]

Despite the releases of Google TV and Apple TV and the growth of Netflix, it may be gaming consoles that deserve the most credit for increased online video viewing. Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s PlayStation 3, and Nintendo’s Wii all have the capability of streaming video to the device through a variety of different online sources.

Nielsen has released new data that examines the amount of video being consumed by users of these consoles, and currently only 25 percent have used their gaming consoles for online video. The majority of time spent using these consoles is, not surprisingly, spent playing games or DVD/Blu-ray viewing.

The users who do watch online video are primarily watching Netflix programming or sporting events on the MLB Network or ESPN3. Breaking down the data by console, 20 percent of Wii users, 10 percent of Xbox 360 users, and only 9 percent of PS3 users stream video to their device.

ZillionTV reportedly closing down

ZillionTV’s Investors Said To Be Shopping Its Assets [Multichannel News]

Announced to great fanfare, ZillionTV was to be an over-the-top broadband video service. Users would purchase a set-top for less than $100 and watch free online video (with heavy advertising) and some transactional on-demand programming.

Some time later, ZillionTV has laid off several employees, is battling litigation, and still hasn't released a product to the public. At one point it was reported that ZillionTV was planning a launch at some time during the second half of 2010, but that never transpired.

It now appears that ZillionTV has completely ceased operations. All of the phones and fax lines in their California office, as well as the company website, have been disabled.  According to Multichannel News, the company's backers are now searching for buyers in the hopes of selling off whatever is left of ZillionTV.

Insight’s boxless solution all-digital pilot project in Louisville

Last month, I announced the transition of our channel lineup in Louisville to an all-digital network. At its completion, we’ll be working towards offering more than 100 HD channels, an Internet service even faster than our currently available 50 Mbps, multi-room DVR and many more advanced products. Just this week, customers throughout the area will begin receiving communications detailing the steps they need to take to make this transition a seamless one.

We’ve launched similar projects in Lexington and Northern Kentucky and those efforts are nearing completion.

In an effort to offer even more options to customers to make the transition to an all-digital service, we’re launching a “pilot project” in Louisville that will provide customers with one more digital option.

If you are a customer in the Louisville area and have a television in your home that has a built-in digital tuner, you’ll only have to perform a channel re-scan to continue receiving our basic and classic lineup.

The advantages of this approach include the fact that no extra equipment is needed, customers can use the remote that came with their TV and can continue to get local broadcast channels in HD.

Most (but not all) newer flat panel TVs have built-in digital tuners; most older TVs don't. If you’re interested in using this option and don’t know if you’re TV has a digital tuner or how to re-scan it, we’ve got a step-by-step manual at www.610upgrade.com. Carefully follow the simple "TV Check" steps for each TV to see if this option will work for you and to get your TVs ready for the change.

And if you’re TV doesn’t have a digital tuner or an Insight digital box already on it, you can still order our small, simple Mini Box which is very easy to install.

We’ve decided to launch this option as a pilot project in Louisville and at this point, we’ve made no decisions about rolling this same solution out in other districts. If it goes well in Louisville, we may look into offering the boxless option elsewhere. However, that will be a decision that would be made down the road.

I'll keep you posted as to how this goes and as I’ve mentioned, stay tuned for additional announcements in the near future concerning great new products that will roll out soon.

Insight to air UK-Miss. Valley State basketball game this Saturday

This situation happened a couple times during the UK football regular reason, but this weekend marks the first time the basketball Cats have played on a channel that we don’t carry.

But, as we’ve done in the past, we’re making this weekend’s UK vs. Mississippi Valley State game, which is airing on Comcast Sports South, available to all of our customers.

The game airs 8:00PM ET/7:00PM CT on Saturday, December 18.

Channel locations are different in each market, but I’ve listed them out below:

• Lexington – Channel 14 for Analog customers and channel 505 for Digital box and Mini Box customers.
• Bowling Green –Channel 5 for Analog customers and channel 505 for Digital box and Mini Box customers.
• Northern Kentucky – Channel 99 for Analog customers and channel 505 for Digital box and Mini Box customers.
• Evansville – Channel 74 for Analog (Classic) customers and channel 505 for Digital box and Mini Box customers.
• Louisville – Channel 15 for Analog customers and channel 505 for Digital box and Mini Box customers.

Here at Insight, we work hard to make sure our customers get the services they want – especially when it comes to the best in local sports.

Also, if you love UK sports, don’t forget to check out Kentucky Sports TV with Matt Jones, airing each weeknight at 7:30 pm ET & 11:00 ET on cn|2. 

And of course, for the most updates on sports action on the Insight network, don’t forget to log-on to SportsOnInsight.com for the latest news.

CNET profiles the trials of one cable cord-cutter

David Katzmaier, a writer for cnet.com, recently took a stab at cutting his cable cord, going it solo with broadband and online video. Katzmaier's main reason for trying life without cable: he thought it would be an easy way to save a little money.

Katzmaier figured he had all he needed to survive without cable television. He had a rooftop antenna for over-the-air broadcasts, TiVo, a Hulu Plus subscription, and he was well-versed with TV.com and Amazon on demand.

After living his cable-free experiment for a few weeks, Katzmaier gave in and decided to reconnect.

There were many reasons Katzmaier gave up on cable-cutting:

• For one, though he didn't have to pay a cable bill, he was losing a significant amount of his expected savings by paying for his Hulu Plus subscription($7.99/month), TiVo use ($20/month), and Amazon episodes ($2 each). He also bought a $180 rooftop antenna. It turned out that cord-cutting wasn't the value proposition that he thought it was.
• His rooftop antenna was high-end, but still couldn’t get decent reception upon which he could depend on a daily basis. So, the broadcast channels he had hoped to salvage from his cable subscription didn't reliably pan out.
• Katzmaier also found there just wasn’t nearly as much programming online as even a basic cable package. His broadcast reception (when it came in clear) wasn’t enough, and he really missed live sports. Most of the online sports packages, like NBA League Pass, black out local team games. Also, Katzmaier found that Hulu and Netflix just didn’t have enough of a selection and didn’t provide episodes in a timely enough manner. He often had to turn to Amazon and purchase each episode a la carte that he wanted to watch.

Overall, Katzmaier just found living without cable television difficult and inconvenient. He and his wife didn’t like having to turn to numerous different devices to access all the programming they wanted to watch. There’s no question that more and more technology is making its way into the market making Internet video easier to enjoy. However, the Katzmaiers ultimately found that they missed the satisfying feeling of being able to sit down on the couch after a long day and simply turn on the TV.

Katzmaier's experience is an interesting example of cord-cutting. There’s no doubt that different people will have different experiences based on the type and amount of programming watched in each household and their willingness to find what they want over multiple platforms. For the Katzmaiers, the Internet video options just weren’t enough for them to stick with cord-cutting. I suspect most cable customers would come to the same conclusion if they gave up their cable channels cold turkey.

Federal court rules search warrant required to seize emails stored by ISPs

E-mail Protected Under Fourth Amendment [Broadband Reports]

The Sixth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals filed an opinion on December 14 that tightened the restrictions over investigators attempting to access information stored in emails that are stored by ISPs. The case involved a pharmaceutical company, Berkeley Premium Nurtaceuticals, Inc., whose directors were convicted for a “massive scheme to defraud…customers.”

One defendant, Steven Warshak, challenged his conviction in the U.S. Court of Appeals based on an invasion of privacy when investigators accessed Warshak’s emails by contacting his Internet service provider, NuVox, without a search warrant. Warshak's attorneys argued that this was an invasion of his privacy rights under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. 

Ultimately, the Court of Appeals agreed.  he Court found that in order to compel NuVox to turn over the emails, the government agents were required to first obtain a warrant based on probable cause.  

These types of warrants are required for authorities to search a suspect's home, to obtain various types of physical records, or to listen to private phone calls, but the Court found that they were now also required for searching emails, even when those emails do not reside on a suspect's home computer. The Court cited the “fundamental similarities” between traditional mail, telephone calls, and emails, and found that it made no sense to require warrants for one of these types of communication and not the other. 

Unfortunately for Warshak, his conviction was upheld on other grounds. Still, this adds a hurdle to the process by which government agents may access your private, online information.

 

 

Americans now use the Internet the same amount of time as television viewing

American Internet Use Catches Up With TV Use [NYT Bits]

Over the last five years, Internet usage in the U.S. has increased by an impressive 121 percent and has now reached the same level as TV watching. All of this is included in a recent survey published by Forrester Research.

In a not-very-stunning finding,  Americans now average and equal time watching TV and using the internet -- 13 hours each, every week.

Not surprisingly, Internet usage was far more popular among the under-30 crowd than among people in older age groups. People under 30 have averaged more Internet time than TV time for several years now with an average of roughly 12 hours per week. People over 66 years of age average about 8 hours a week.

Despite the fact that Internet and TV have pulled even, the overall amount of time people are spending with their televisions has remained constant.  The growth in Internet usage comes at the cost of  other media, such as offline radio and printed newspapers or magazines, have seen significant drop-offs in usage rates.

Interestingly, the survey did not look into what percentage of people who are watching streaming video consider that activity to be Internet usage or TV time. If someone is streaming Netflix videos through a Roku box, for example, it’s unclear whether they would have considered that TV time or Internet time. The survey did report that 33 percent of adults use the Internet to watch some form of streaming video. That number is up from 18 percent in 2007.

The rise in Internet usage is undoubtedly due to the numerous new ways (and new devices) to access online information. Since people can now use the Internet from their phones, tablets, etc. there are more hours in the day when Internet usage is possible.

Comcast testing set-top that combines cable television with online video

Comcast Tests Combo Internet-Cable Device [Wall Street Journal]

America’s largest cable provider, Comcast, is currently testing a new cable set-top box that combines DVR and other digital set-top features with Internet connectivity. Customers in the company's Augusta, Georgia market are trying out the first version of the device which may or may not make its way into a commercially available product.

The box doesn’t have a full web browser, but does allow users to search through online video options, along with regular cable programming, on-demand options and DVR recordings. The box also includes a number of basic social networking capabilities, allowing users to share information about the programs they’re watching. 

In addition to offering additional programming options to customers, one significant advantage of having this type of connected set-top is that it would allow the cable provider to provide users with updated interfaces and user guides more quickly.

The tests are in the very early stages (the product doesn’t even have a name yet), and the Comcast representative cited by the Wall Street Journal said that they have not yet made a decision on whether or not to officially launch the device.

Other technology companies have been trying to find the right balance between online streaming and live television. TiVo has an interesting set-top box solution for cable operators and we all know about Google's interest in the area.  I expect to continue to see companies continue to push the innovation envelope on broadband-connected set-tops.

Google coming under fire for favoring own services in search results

Rivals Say Google Plays Favorites [WSJ]

Should Google be allowed to place its own enterprises first in its search results?  That question is creating quite a buzz, particularly from the numerous companies that compete with Google in search and other sectors. 

As Google has evolved from an online search company to much, much more, questions have arisen regarding Google’s preference for its own sites and services. 

Many companies, including TripAdvisor, Urbanspoon, WebMD, and CitySearch, are alleging that Google’s preferential treatment for their own competing services in search results is having a negative impact on their site traffic. 

Google has responded that their search engine doesn’t exist to ensure other sites get the best treatment possible. It says it exists to ensure users get the best information available. Naturally, Google believes that their own services provide the best in most cases.

The issue does raise some interesting questions regarding Google’s operation.  On the one hand, it is Google’s search engine. Shouldn't they be able to use their core business to advertise their ancillary services?

On the other hand, Google search is so ubiquitous - comprising two-thirds of all web queries - if Google is truly handicapping competing businesses, does that not raise anti-trust questions?

 

FCC releases broadband study that indicates most broadband connections fall below 3Mbps

FCC: 68% Of U.S. Connections Slower than 3 Mbps Down, 768kbps Up [DSLReports]

During this past summer, the FCC revised the definition of broadband upward from the previous 768 Kbps downstream to 4 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps up. However, a new study from the FCC suggests a large number of users are not getting these speeds.

The FCC’s most recent data shows that 68% of residential connections in the U.S. fell below the 4 down/1 up benchmark. Roughly 58% of connections failed to even reach 3 Mbps downstream, and 49% failed to achieve 768 kbps upstream.

The FCC is required, under the 1996 Telecom Act, to release these reports on a quarterly basis. The problem with their data is that they survey “wired areas,” and any zip code with at least one broadband customer is said to be “wired” for purposes of the survey.

What's unclear from the data in the FCC report is how many of the connections that fell below the broadband threshold were because users opted for slower broadband - like a DSL connection. The agency is currently in the process of compiling tests of broadband users across the country using British broadband metrics firm SamKnows. The SamKnows tests compare a broadband user's actual broadband speeds to the ISP's advertised speed.

Gawker user database compromised by hackers

Gawker Shuts Down After Hackers [New York Times]

If you're a registered user of any of the popular Gawker Media online news web sites and you happen to use a password on Gawker that is used on any of your other accounts, it's time to change your password on those other accounts. Unknown hackers managed to compromise the database that contains the user information for Gawker's users - 1.3 million of them - and now have control of their user names and passwords.

Users' data would have been in the hacked database for an act as simple as registering to leave a comment on any of Gawker's sites. Those include Gawker, Gizmodo, Valleywag, Lifehacker and others. Gawker claims that the database was encrypted but would be vulnerable to a brute force attack, evidenced by the hackers' decision to post the user names and passwords of several Gawker staff online. According to the hackers, several staff members used the totally insecure "password" as their password.

On Sunday afternoon, Gawker stopped publishing while it tried to regain its footing in the midst of the attack by resetting user accounts and developing more secure passwords for its staff. It issued a statement encouraging users to change their passwords and use a security precautions in choosing one that is difficult to guess.

Qualcomm ending FLO TV service

Goodbye FLO TV. Hello, Service and Device Refunds! [GigaOM]

Qualcomm's FLO TV product, which provided a limited channel lineup for a monthly subscription on a mobile device, has been dropped by the company due to poor sales, and customers are being offered refunds for FLO TV equipment. The service debuted in 2007, but wasn't offered on a standalone device until last year. Readers may remember that Qualcomm made an advertising push during this year's Super Bowl.

FLO TV operated on it's very own television network, using spectrum in the 716-722 MHz range, which reportedly cost Qualcomm $683 million to acquire. With FLO TV's failure, the company is looking to unload the spectrum to a mobile provider. 

FLO TV had two main problems that hindered its adoption by the masses. First, many didn't see value in the limited programming available on the device for the price of the monthly bill. The idea of taking over-the-air television mobile didn't account for the myriad of online video options that become mobile when viewed on a laptop or tablet computer. Second, FLO TV network was only available in certain portions of the country, limiting the market for the service.

Customers have until the end of April to contact Qualcomm to request a refund for their FLO TV device.

Moonves has the answer for GoogleTV’s woes: money

Moonves to Google TV: Pay Up [Mediaweek]

Google’s struggle to get its TV service off the ground has been well documented. Broadcasters and other major video sites are flat-out blocking their online video from Google TV users.

Les Moonves, CEO of CBS, is now speaking out about his company’s blocking of Google TV and it doesn’t look like his stance will be changing any time soon. Moonves isn’t interested in giving away his network’s content for free and intends to approach Google TV cautiously as it could drastically change the way CBS’s content is viewed. He is also concerned that providing his content to Google TV could disrupt relationships with cable and satellite providers and I can assure him, he's right.  Not because I believe Google should never have access to CBS programming, but because it reduces the value of their programs on conventional TV while they are demanding huge increases in retransmission consent fees.

Throughout his statement, Moonves stressed maintaining control over his programming, and he suggested this control wouldn’t be surrendered without adequate payment. He stated, “We are a primary provider of premium content. We are going to get paid for it.”

CBS has blazed its own path online, with its TV.com service, as opposed to the other broadcasters. Currently, CBS programming is the only major broadcaster that hasn't joined up with Hulu.

I suppose Google thought that simply pushing more viewers to CBS' web site and allowing CBS to monetize those eyeballs would be enough to sell them on the idea. Clearly it’s going to take a much bigger pay day for broadcasters like CBS to jump on board.