Michael's Insight

Google modifies instant search results for piracy-related keywords

Google Begins Soft Censorship Of Arbitrary Piracy-Related Queries [TechCrunch]

Anti-piracy battles continue and the latest tactic to combat online piracy now includes alterations to Google Instant search results.

Last year, Google employed Google Instant search, which calls up search results as you type your search query. With Google Instant you can usually get halfway through typing your search terms, and the site you are looking for will already be displayed. Often there’s no need to type the entire entry or hit the enter key after typing search terms.

Now certain words related to searches for illegally copied content on peer-to-peer networks will no longer automatically trigger an instant result in Google searches.

Searches such as “bittorrent” don't show up in Google Instant. Users can still hit the enter key to get results from the search engine. 

It's interesting that Google, which prides itself on a search algorithm that supposedly does not censor nor artificially promote or relegate certain results, is altering results for Google Instant. But the reality of illegal content distribution needs to be factored into their thinking and I agree this is one small step in the right direction.

Half of homes projected to have DVR by 2016

DVR Homes To Reach 50% Of Homes In 2016: Magna Global [Multichannel News]

Research firm, Magna Global, has released new projections showing a bright future for DVR and On Demand video.

In the third quarter of 2010, one-third of U.S. TV households had a DVR, which came out to about 37.9 million total homes. According to this new research, by year-end of 2016 that number will jump to 61.8 million homes equal to roughly 50% of all U.S. TV households.

Magna Global is also predicting significant increases for Video On Demand penetration. By third quarter of 2010, VOD had reached 51.1 million U.S. homes or 44% of all TV homes. By the end of 2016, VOD is expected to grow to 57% of TV homes or 70.1 million households.

A total of 48.9% of satellite customers currently have a DVR. That means the majority of projected growth for DVR is expected to come from cable providers, which have higher total numbers of DVR customers, but lower percentages of customers with DVRs.

NCTA skeptical of FCC rules on broadband video

NCTA: Broadband Video Migration Needs No FCC Push [Multichannel News]

The FCC has announced plans to release a rulemaking in the first quarter of 2011 focused on advancing broadband video. Kyle McSlarrow, president of the NCTA, sent a letter to FCC chairman Julius Genachowski this week that maintains the broadband video marketplace continues to innovate, and government regulation is unnecessary and potentially creates a chilling effect on new product development.

The FCC’s plans would involve the implementation of a gateway device to combine online video with over-the-air and over-the-wire video. The problem cable operators and programmers have with this plan is that it would likely throw a wrench in the aggregation of programming that sits at the heart of the current video business model.

McSlarrow, in the letter, did not argue that the FCC’s goals were unacceptable. Instead, McSlarrow argued that the cable industry is already moving in this direction on its own and does not need government intervention to push it forward.

McSlarrow also cited the numerous online video products that have already made their way into the marketplace without any push by the FCC. From tablets to Internet-connected TVs to new online video streaming services, McSlarrow said innovation is happening on its own and the FCC should merely work to ensure that impediments are not placed in front of these developments.

The FCC’s current plans are to produce a gateway device, such as the AllVid technology, to replace the CableCARD by 2012. Interestingly, the FCC also has current plans to try to save CableCARD technology.

Netflix rates cable broadband best for streaming video

Cable companies best at streaming Netflix video [CNET News]

Netflix has released a report on how its streaming service fairs on the various networks of some of the largest Internet service providers in the country. The company examined the performance of its long-form, high-definition streams over various networks and found the cable networks offered far and away the best performance.

Of the top 16 national companies Netflix examined, the top seven were all cable companies. Charter was the strongest performing cable company overall.  Insight was not mentioned in the report.

Netflix’s research looked at network traffic from October 1, 2010 through January 15, 2010. The research looked at the highest bit rate HD video Netflix offers. When networks slow down or become congested the bit rate of the streaming video drops. It’s impossible to sustain maximum bit rate throughout an entire video, but the higher the bit rate throughout the video the better the performance of the network.

Cable networks had the best results across the board, which is not surprising, given that, with the widespread rollout of DOCSIS 3.0, most cable networks offer much faster broadband speeds than virtually all of their competiors.

New Facebook ad unit promotes users' likes to their friends without opt-out

Facebook Brings Back (Part of) Beacon, and No One Blinks [All Things D]

In a low-profile announcement earlier this week, Facebook announced a new ad platform that will take users’ actual likes, comments, and check-ins and turn them into “Sponsored Stories” or advertisements for the products and places mentioned.

Sponsored Stories are ads that companies can purchase that will show up to the right of a user's newsfeed and tell users when their friends like the company’s product, check-in at the company’s location, or comment on the company’s Facebook page.

Facebook has not provided an opt-out option for its users that aren't interested in Sponsored Stories, so if you click the "like" button for a particular company, it could end up as an ad on your friends' Facebook feed pages whether you’d like it to or not. Facebook has received criticism in the past for similar ad units that don’t include an opt-out, but so far this announcement has garnered less critical attention. That’s probably because liking something on Facebook or checking-in to a location is essentially advertising that place or business anyway. Facebook is monetizing these actions by having the companies pay for more targeted ads.

This isn’t Facebook’s first attempt at this type of advertising. Four years ago Facebook announced Beacon which, like Sponsored Stories, turned online activities into ads. In 2007, this idea was met with a significant uproar. Complaints flooded Facebook, the project was cancelled, and Mark Zuckerberg apologized. 

We'll see if time will change the outcome this time around.

MetroPCS follows Verizon with FCC suit on net neutrality

MetroPCS Sues FCC Over Neutrality Rules [Broadband Reports]

MetroPCS is the nation’s fifth largest mobile phone service provider. Recently the company announced new LTE pricing plans that included a $40 economy tier that only provided limited access to the open Internet unless a customer paid an additional $10 fee. However, MetroPCS did allow full access to its own content on this tier. At the time, Broadband Reports raised the issue of whether MetroPCS' offer violated the FCC's recent net neutrality rule making.

Now MetroPCS has offered a very public response to what they think about the charge. They’ve followed Verizon’s lead and sued the FCC in an effort to overturn the rules. MetroPCS claims that the FCC lacked a jurisdictional basis to enact the net neutrality rules.

Like Verizon, MetroPCS filed their claim in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, likely because it is the same court that found that the FCC did not have the authority to prevent Comcast from blocking certain traffic on its network under previous FCC net neutrality principles.

Two browsers adding feature to stop ad tracking

Mozilla, Google add ‘Do Not Track’ features to Web browsers [Hillicon Valley]

You’ve undoubtedly noticed how some sites seem to follow you around even after you leave the site. You go to a site, browse around, and then head to another, and suddenly all the ads on your screen are for the site or subject you just visited. It’s called ad tracking, and it allows advertisers to track the sites you visit so that they can display ads for sites or services that you’ve browsed in the past.

Not that it's all bad.

While ad tracking often leads to more targeted advertisements for products and services that are more personally tailored to users, many are uncomfortable with advertisers tracking their online activities. Now web browsers Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome are developing features that will allow users to opt out of ad tracking.

While Mozilla has admitted they are considering new features for upcoming releases of Firefox, Google has gone a step further by already unveiling a “Keep My Opt-Outs” extension for Chrome that allows users to permanently block the cookies these ads use.

Chrome’s extension comes with a disclaimer that notifies its users that this extension may result in users seeing many repeated ads and fewer relevant ads.

Many advocacy groups believe this isn’t enough and would prefer users have to proactively opt-in meaning “no-ad-tracking” would be the default. Still, this action by Mozilla and Google shows pretty quick compliance with FTC recommendations that were recently made urging the browser industry to adopt ad tracking opt-out features.

Pushing past 1 Gbps with DOCSIS

Bond. Cable Bond. [Light Reading – The Bauminator]

Several recent tests to stretch the limits of cable broadband speeds have made the news recently. I blogged about a South Korean ISP teaming with with Arris to obtain speeds of 800 Mbps. Before that, German cable operator Kabel Deutschland was able to achieve speeds faster than 1 Gbps on Cisco equipment.

Now Norweigan ISP Get is reporting that they have achieved 1.4 Gbps speeds using the latest DOCSIS technology to bond 32 cable channels. Get’s tests also used Cisco technology to bond channels that each achieved actual speeds 43 Mbps. Interestingly, European DOCSIS cable channels have been given a maximum speed capacity of 55 Mbps, suggesting that even higher speeds could be possible with this type of bonding. Granted, these channels only have a 55 Mbps theoretical maximum. The 43 Mbps achieved by Get is one of the highest individual channel speeds actually reached.

Like the other tests I’ve mentioned the reported speeds are downstream only.

It’s not official, but the next generation of DOCSIS 3.0 chip technology is expected to include the ability to bond 16 to 32 channels, which would explain the numerous tests designed to create this type of bonding. It is widely believed that this type of technology is being developed for the advancement of IP video, though 32 bonded channels reaching 1.4 Gbps would likely be way more than enough for even the largest IP video platform.

Small declines in numbers of HD advertisements in 4Q of 2010

Just 13% Of Q4 Ads Aired In HD: Study [Multichannel News]

The fourth quarter is an important period for television ad sales. With the holidays and end-of-the-year deals, there is increased demand among advertisers to get ads on the air of crowded TV networks. Now that over half of all U.S. households own an HD television, that means an increased number of those ads are in high definition. 

However according to a study by Extreme Research, fewer advertisers put HD advertisements on the air in the fourth quarter of 2010 than in the third quarter. In the third quarter, 14% of ads were sent out in native high definition, but last three months of the year showed a decline to 13%.

Conversely, the number of local broadcasters who gained the ability to accept and air HD channels grew over the fourth quarter to 34% compared to 32% in the third quarter. Local broadcast trailed cable, of which 58% of local and 59% of national were able to accept HD ads. National broadcasters led the way with 83% being capable of HD ad carriage. It seems there just weren’t a growing number of HD ads available for them to air.

Despite the decreased percentage of HD ads available, the actual number of ads shown in HD on cable actually increased slightly. While local cable stayed the same at 5% of ads shown in HD, national cable jumped pretty significantly from 23% to 27%. The percentage of ads in HD on local broadcast, on the other hand, declined from 8% in the third quarter to 7% in the fourth. National broadcast increased its number of HD channels shown from 30% to 32%.

One in four P2P downloads are faked content

25% of files downloaded from The Pirate Bay are fakes [ArsTechnica]

Here's another reason why it's not a great idea to hit up a P2P network for music or video - you have at least a one in four chance of downloading a fake copy of the content you're looking for. A group of computer scientists from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in Spain took a look at several BitTorrent search engines like The Pirate Bay and Mininova, compiling research about the files available for download. They discovered that fully 30 percent of the files on these sites were fake - that their contents didn't match the file description. 

Most of the fake torrents were planted by anti-piracy companies working for content creation companies in an effort to make illegal file trading more troublesome than simply purchasing legitimate versions of the content. These files usually contain dummy data. However, a significant number of the fake files were malware disguised as pirated software or content. Hackers plant the malware in P2P networks hoping that a hapless user downloads and executes the file, which might recruit a user's computer into a botnet or infect it with a virus.

The Spanish scientists found that while P2P search engines manage to block some of the fake files and savvy P2P users avoid some as well, one in four torrent downloads involve a fake file. That's an incredibly high number considering that the fakes - unlike the real versions - aren't likely to be redistributed by users.

Given how reasonably priced most legal content is online, maybe it's time to stop breaking the law and just pay up.

Apple iOS App Store hits 10 billion downloads

Apple App Store reaches 10 billion downloads [CNET News]

It's just over 2 and a half years old, but over the weekend, the Apple App Store notched its 10 billionth app download.  It even might have been me when, after hearing so many people talk about it, my curiosity got the better of me and I downloaded the free version of Angry Birds to my iPad.  Apple launched the store in mid-2008 as a way for third-party developers to create programs for its iPhone and iPod Touch. From there, the App Store has grown to accomodate iPad applications and spawned an App Store for Mac computers. 

Because the concept has revolutionized mobile software distribution, it's really not surprising that the App Store hit this milestone so quickly. Other mobile platforms - including Google's Android, RIM's BlackBerry, Microsoft and Nokia - offer similarly styled online application stores but nowhere near the level of choices that Apple offers.

At this time, the iOS App Store contains over 350,000 different applications. Unlike other app stores, Apple has taken a walled-garden approach, which means that Apple employees vet and approve each app before it's made available for download by users while most of their competitors do not.

Japanese court rules against location-shifted television

Japanese Court Says That Place Shifting TV Overseas Is Infringing [TechCrunch]

Out of Japan comes an notable ruling from that country's supreme court on location-shifted television. The Japanese Supreme Court has ruled that any service that transfers live television to another location over the Internet is deemed illegal copyright infringement.  That's bad news for SlingBox and other simliar technologies which are no longer legally permissible in Japan.

The case involved a device manufactured by Sony that contained a television tuner and streamed the video content to a user's computer over the Internet. It's not clear whether the device produced multiple streams, or only a single stream like the SlingBox.

Lower courts in Japan ruled that the use of the Sony location-shifting device was permissible under Japanese copyright law, but those rulings were overturned by the supreme court's ruling. Now the decision goes to Japan's Intellectual Property High Court to decide what the damages will be for the content producers that filed the suit. 

Verizon files appeal of FCC net neutrality rules

Verizon sues FCC over net neutrality [Politico]

Not surprisingly, the FCC's recent rule making on net neutrality is headed to court. On Thursday, Verizon, one of the few major companies impacted by the rule that did not support it, filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit seeking a reversal. 

Employing some major legal maneuvering, Verizon chose the venue for the suit very carefully. The company is challenging the net neutrality rules based on a technical portion of the FCC's order that changed Verizon's wireless licenses with the agency. That section, while only a small piece of the overall rules, gave Verizon the legal toehold it needed to bring the action with the D.C. Circuit.

Why would Verizon want the suit to be heard there? Probably because it is the same court that overturned the FCC the last time it acted on net neutrality. In April of last year, Comcast prevailed over the agency's 2008 order against them for alleged violations of the FCC's net neutrality principles. The court ruled that the agency did violate anything that the Commission had any authority over which was never specifically granted by Congress.

The FCC is expected to challenge Verizon's decision to file the action with the Court of Appeals.

Cable modem achieves 800 Mbps downstream

Arris Tests 800 Mbps Cable Modem [Broadband Reports]

Arris is a communications company that manufactures a variety of technology products, including cable modems.

Recently, Arris partnered with South Korea’s largest ISP, SK Broadband, to test super-high speeds capable through a cable modem. The two companies bonded a total of 16 downstream channels and successfully reached speeds as high as 800 Mbps in laboratory settings. The tests used one of SK Broadband’s 16x4 modems.

This type of channel bonding would give hybrid fiber coax (HFC) infrastructure comparable downstream speeds to fiber-to-the-home networks.

Unfortunately, the report did not include upstream speed tests. Arris has announced previously that they have conducted upstream tests with another South Korean operator, HCN, but no speeds have been reported.

A few months ago, it was reported that German operator, Kabel Deutschland successfully achieved cable downstream speeds reaching 1 Gbps using Cisco products.

Though these are merely tests, it’s a positive sign that faster and faster speeds are being achieved on the HFC platform which already is universally deployed to over 95% of the nation.  For consumers, that means they are more likely to see faster future speeds more quickly and more affordably than if building fiber to every home was the only way to deliver it. 

Content company executives debate deals with Netflix

What Hollywood Execs Privately Say About Netflix [Hollywood Reporter]

It started as an alternative to movie rental places like Blockbuster, and has grown into a company that is planning to spend $1.2 billion in 2012 on online video content.

Netflix is obviously not viewed favorably by the Blockbusters of the world, but what's more interesting is the number of content owners who view the Netflix business model with suspicion. Hollywood Reporter has published an interesting profile of several content company executives views on Netflix.

Notable programming executives have made negative public statements about Netflix, including Phil Kent, CEO of Time Warner's Turner Broadcast Systems, who has gone as far as warning other executives against selling their shows on Netflix. Kent's concern: that selling programming to Netflix will ultimately affect programmers’ syndication deals, which is where they derive the majority of their profits. Jeff Bewkes, CEO of Time Warner, has also made similar comments about Netflix , and Time Warner has declined a licensing agreement with Netflix that would give Netflix the right to stream HBO programming.

Still, Netflix continues to make deals with many distributors. Mark Cuban, who owns 2929 Entertainment, Landmark Theatres, and HDNet, views Netflix as a “friend to producers and distributors.” Cuban also noted that Netflix has interestingly found opportunities where DVD sales used to thrive by focusing on library assets, like drama series that are meant to be viewed in chronological order.

Others see Netflix as simply a buyer of content that many others don’t see as extremely valuable, including the library assets that Cuban described. If Disney can sell Netflix the rights to old episodes of Lost, which are no longer airing on cable or satellite television, why wouldn’t they?

This, of course, has spurred debate about whether Netflix’s future is simply as a catalog of online television series or as a disruptive business model that could fundamentally change the way video content is distributed. 

Wireless network bandwidth utilization patterns mirror terrestrial broadband networks

60% Of Wireless Network Use To Be Video [Broadband Reports]

There have been many reports published recently about a minority of users generating the majority of traffic on their broadband providers' networks. What's true for terrestrial broadband is making its way to mobile networks when it comes to bandwidth utilization. 

A recent study conducted in the United Kingdom indicated that 90% of wireless networks' bandwidth is eaten up by only 10% of an individual network’s users. The study was conducted by a network vendor named ByteMobile.

ByteMobile peered into the makeup of network bandwidth usage and found that, not surprisingly, video accounts for the largest percentage of bandwidth usage. According to their study, 40% of bandwidth used in 2010 was allocated to video usage. Further, ByteMobile estimates that video will account for closer to 60% of bandwidth usage by the end of 2011.

Two charged with hack of AT&T iPad site

Two Are Charged With Fraud in iPad Security Breach [New York Times]

Readers may remember that soon after the Apple iPad began shipping last year, hackers were able to breach an AT&T web site to retrieve thousands of email addresses of iPad owners that used AT&T's mobile network with their device. Now, the two hackers that are alleged to have perpetrated the hack have been arrested and charged with fraud and conspiracy.

According to the FBI, Daniel Spitler and Andrew Auernheimer are alleged to have discovered a security flaw in AT&T's web site that allowed them access to 114,000 email addresses of owners of iPads connected to AT&T's mobile network. The flaw allowed the hackers to fool the site into thinking an iPad user was connecting, when in fact it was the hackers who were able to retrieve the email address associated with the iPad user they were imitating.

Because the AT&T site authenticated iPad users with a unique number drawn from a set of sequential numbers, the hackers were able to access the site by simply plugging in the next sequential number. The AT&T site did not require any secure login credentials.

Each count that Spitler and Aurenheimer are charged with have a maximum five-year prison term and a $250,000 fine. While the hackers are alleged to have discussed selling the email addresses they obtained to spammers, reports indicate that they ultimately did not sell the addresses.

Regulatory approval granted for Comcast acquisition of NBCU

FCC, Justice approve Comcast and NBC joint venture [The Washington Post]

It first made news as early as September 2009, and this week the Comcast/NBCU deal has gained regulatory approval from the FCC and Department of Justice.

The acquisition gives Comcast majority ownership of NBC and its numerous successful cable networks, including USA, Bravo, MSNBC, and CNBC, to go along with the cable provider’s 16.7 million broadband and 23 million cable subscribers.

The FCC approved the deal by a vote of 4 to 1, finding that the deal was in the public interest. The Commission did attach a number of conditions, as did the Department of Justice in its approval. 

Many of the conditions take aim at the online video aspects of the deal and mark the first time that the FCC has taken aim at competition within the online video market. For instance, the FCC has required that Comcast offer versions of its content to “bona fide” online distributors under the same terms it gives to other cable and satellite providers, so long as the online distributors did not engage in piracy and met certain financial requirements. It seems this could apply to anything from Apple TV to Google TV or even YouTube.

Some lawmakers had requested that Hulu, which is owned by NBC, News Corp, and Disney, not be included in the acquisition. Instead, the approvals from both the FCC and the DOJ required simply that Comcast surrender any management rights over Hulu, but can keep any equity in the company.

Northern Kentucky receives new HD channels... with interest

Many of you undoubtedly remember an announcement we made early last year that our Northern Kentucky customers would "very soon" be receiving a handful of new HD channels.  If you forgot about the announcement, you haven't been reading some of the the colorful comments left here on this blog.

Subsequent to our original announcement, changed our HD launch strategy and decided to expedite our all-digital project in Northern Kentucky.  That meant any HD launches needed to be put on hold until we were ready to launch many more channels than originally planned.  I appreciate our Northern Kentucky customers' patience throughout the past year and I'm very happy to finally announce that our HD customers in the district now have a full 100 channel HD lineup.

I am truly excited about what we are now able to provide to our loyal Northern Kentucky customers, from these new HD channels to the lightning-fast 50 Mbps broadband we launched last month.

We also will be launching our Multiroom DVR very soon and I will let you know as soon as it's available (I know, you've heard "very soon" before, but we are very close to that launch).

Here is a list of the new HD channels (and channel number) that are now available in Northern Kentucky:

• MSNBC - 907
• CNN Headline News -   909
• Univision - 911
• Cooking Channel - 913
• DIY Network - 914
• RedZone - 919
• Fox Soccer Channel - 921
• CMT - 942
• VH1 - 943
• MTV - 944
• Investigation Discovery - 948
• Encore - 950
• Fox Movie Channel - 956
• Turner Classic Movies - 957
• Starz Edge - 958
• Starz Kids & Family - 959
• HBO Family - 960
• HBO Signature - 961
• ActionMAX - 962
• The Movie Channel - 963
• Showtime Too - 964
• Smithsonian HD - 965
• MGM HD - 966
• BET - 967
• CBS College Sports - 968
• The Outdoor Channel - 970
• VERSUS - 971
• Golf Channel - 972
• Tennis Channel - 973
• G4 - 975
• BIO - 977
• Nickelodeon - 978
• Disney XD - 980
• Cartoon Network - 981
• Lifetime Movie Network - 986
• Hallmark Channel - 987
• WE: Women's Entertainment - 988
• E! Entertainment - 989
• Style - 990
• BBC America - 992
• Planet Green - 993
• Spike TV - 994
• truTV - 995
• Comedy Central - 997
• HD PPV IN DEMAND - 998

FCC releases report showing healthy competition in telephone service market

A Strong Showing in Phone Service Competition [CableTechTalk]

According to the latest Local Telephone Competition report, released by the FCC this past Tuesday, the phone service market is showing growing competition. The report focused on the telephone industry through the end of 2009.

If you're wondering why the latest report contains data a year old, that's because it is the most recent data the FCC has on the subject.

Opening up the data to both Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service and traditional switched access lines, the FCC found a total of 153 million wireline telephone connections through December 2009. Of that 153 million, 26 million were designated as interconnected VoIP subscriptions, with the remaining 127 million representing traditional switched access lines.

The FCC’s VoIP data included independent VoIP service companies like Vonage, as well as cable and telephone companies that offer VoIP on their networks. Eighty-four (84) percent of the VoIP subscribers were broadband bundle customers, and 87% of these bundles were provided via cable modem.

The FCC also broke down the 153 million connections by residential (45% switched access and 15% VoIP) and business (38% switched access, 2% VoIP).

Cable operators have steadily grown their telephone services with more than 23.5 million customers nationwide, representing one out of every four households.

With the cable companies creating this growing competition in the phone market, there have been drastic savings in home telephone bills. In fact, according to research from Microeconomic Consulting & Research Associates, Inc. (MiCRA), roughly $111 billion will be saved on residential and small business phone bills by 2012.

TWC and Sinclair reach retrans agreement

Time Warner Cable, Sinclair Reach Retrans Agreement In Principle [Multichannel News]

Over the weekend, another retransmission dispute between one of the largest broadcasters and the nation's second and sixth largest cable providers appears to be concluding without a loss of programming to customers. Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns or operates over 50 stations in 35 markets had a retransmission agreement with Time Warner Cable and BrightHouse Networks that expired at the end of last year. While the companies weren't able to come to an agreement prior to the expiration, they did extend the current terms by two weeks, giving them time to come to a deal in principle.

Though the rhetoric between the broadcaster and cable providers was heated at times, the new retransmission agreement was reached without an interruption in programming to Time Warner Cable and BrightHouse customers.

But this one was different and it may be a good roadmap to having fewer customer-impacting failed renewals.  Time Warner and their affiliate BrightHouse had the specific right to carry FOX network programming from a different local broadcaster in the event of a failed renegotiation with any primary FOX affiliate.  They received that right for a limited time when they renewed their retransmission rights with FOX's owned local TV stations last year.  It was the first retransmission consent negotiation that I'm aware of where the cable distributor had that right and it meant that withholding NFL playoffs and college bowl games could not be used as weapons to extract huge price increases. 

According to the New York Times' Media Decoder blog, observers are looking to the FCC's February agenda (set to be released this week) for an indication that the agency is planning a review of the current retransmission rules. While several of the more recent disputes have ended without a programming blackout, like our agreement with Raycom Media, there have been way too many that have resulted in broadcasters pulling their signal and consumers losing access to their favorite programming.

As I've said before, under the current rules, broadcasters frequently use their programming monopoly as leverage to ask for double and triple digit percentage increases in retrans fees and the FCC lacks the jurisdiction to intervene to prevent a blackout. Those who read this blog regularly know that I rarely advocate for additional government regulations. In this case, however, a government-created system -- retransmission consent -- is broken and consumers deserve additional protections to ensure that they continue to receive the broadcasters channels while retransmission negotiations between broadcasters and cable companies take place.

Facebook to allow developers access to users' phone numbers and street addresses

New privacy concerns for Facebook over phone numbers, addresses [ArsTechnica]

If you're a Facebook user that has your phone number or home address on your profile page (and even if its protected the privacy settings), you might want to take note of a new policy that the social network is instituting for developers using its application programming interface (API). Starting soon, developers of third-party applications for Facebook will be able to access the phone numbers and addresses of users that have installed those applications. Once that policy goes into effect, that neat game that you play on Facebook or the helpful application from one of your favorite coffee shop or restaurant would have access to your home phone number or address.

While those developers agree to abide by Facebook's terms of service for the API, it isn't unheard of for rogue Facebook applications to compile user data for marketing purposes. A well-publicized report in the Wall Street Journal several months ago found that several application did just that and their developers were suspended from Facebook for a period of six months.

Of course, Facebook users must grant the applications permission to reside on their account. Once that happens, however, there's very little way of knowing if and how the application is accessing information on your profile. If you're concerned about the privacy of your personal information and currently post phone numbers or addresses on your Facebook page, now might be a good time to re-evaluate leaving it there.

Insight's Evansville, Henderson and Bowling Green districts going all-digital

Having already launched our Lexington, Northern Kentucky and Louisville digital transition efforts, we're now announcing that our Evansville, Henderson and Bowling Green districts will now begin the same process.

Lexington now has more than 100 HD channels, Northern Kentucky will have them very soon and Louisville isn't far behind.

Now, these communities can be assured that those great features, in addition to a multi-room DVR service and will continue to have the fastest Internet speeds available.  Our customers already have the fastest broadband in town with our 50 meg service and this project will allow us to increase those speeds even more, down the road.

Over the next few weeks, we will begin communicating with our customers to tell them what they need to to in order to prepare for this transition, called the Digital 6.10 Upgrade. Channels that are currently transmitted in analog will be provided in digital after this conversion.

As we've done previously in our other markets, we're committed to making this conversion as seamless as possible.

Our Lexington and Northern Kentucky markets have already made this transition seamlessly as all of their channels are now delivered in digital. We're steadily moving through that same process in Louisville and it is going very well.

I've said this more than once, but it bears repeating; this is a complicated process that won't happen overnight. We'll be certain to keep you posted about our progress as we work hard to minimize any disruptions caused by the process.

We're aggressively moving through this all-digital project because we understand that our customers want the best in high-definition entertainment and the fastest Internet speeds available. In fact, we hear from many customers every single day requesting more and more of these great features.

We're committed to keeping our customers on the cutting edge of technology and this is a big step in that process.

Hackers find way around broadcasters blocking of Google TV

Google TV Hack Offers Access to Hulu, Android Apps [GigaOM]

Google has had its share of troubles getting content providers, including broadcast network web sites and Hulu, to allow their online content to be accessible via Google TV. Currently, if Google TV users attempt to access online content from the networks' sites they receive a message that the programming is “not available on this device.”

These sites use the signature from the Google TV browser to block access to their online programming videos.

This hasn’t stopped the Android community from attempting to find a way around the blocking. And now that they've succeeded in jail-breaking the Logitech Revue Google TV set-top, there's a hack that allows a user to not only view the blocked online content, but also to install apps onto the device from the Android Market.

Jail-breaking involves removing the portion of the Google TV OS that prevents users from modifying the base-level settings of Google TV. It's been popular among a segment of iOS enthusiasts as a way to install apps that haven't been approved by Apple for iOS devices. Now, it has made its way to Google TV.

This is not something the average consumer is easily going to be able to implement, but it may become more commonplace as hackers continue their attempts to access content that broadcasters aim to keep blocked from Google TV users.

Google picks sides in HTML5 video codec dispute

Google yanking H.264 video out of Chrome [CNET News]

Google has taken a shot in the ongoing battle for HTML5 video codec supremacy through a recent move it made on its Chrome browser.

Currently, Chrome comes equipped with the ability to play H.264 video. However, since they have announced their own WebM video technology, Google has decided to remove support for H.264.

H.264 is a codec preferred by both Apple and Microsoft, primarily because of the patent restrictions included. A group called MPEG LA pools video patents and collects royalty fees for H.264 video usage. Google’s WebM is a open-source codec that, Google claims, furthers their company’s goal to “enable open innovation.”

Before this announcement, Chrome was the only major browser to support both WebM and H.264 video. Now they have chosen sides in the codec wars.

Reactions to this move by Google have been mixed. Many, including Mozilla, are pleased and see this as a significant move toward an open standards-based Internet. On the other hand, critics see this as just another obstacle to video production that could result in a weaker experience for the viewer.

Adobe could ultimately end up benefiting from this move because with WebM not having substantial penetration yet, the cheapest way to develop web video for many will be the continued use of Adobe's Flash.