'9/ll Commission Report' Moves Closer to TV
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NBC has moved closer to bringing  the best-selling official narrative of the Sept. 11 attacks on  America to TV, clinching a deal with Hollywood filmmakers at  Imagine Entertainment, the network said on Friday.
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The Democratic National Committee says it will file a complaint with US election officials (the Federal Election Commission) Tuesday over a broadcasting company&#39;s plan to air a film critical of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry.
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In a broad discussion at the Consumer Electronics Show, U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)&#160;Chairman Kevin Martin on Tuesday confirmed that the deadline for the country&#39;s switch to digital TV next year will not be postponed, explained the rationale behind the requirements for the current 700MHz auction, and gave hints about his thinking regarding various communications megamergers.Interviewed at the show by Consumer Electronics Association President Gary Shapiro, Martin said the February 2009 deadline for the digital TV switch is a &quot;hard deadline.&quot; He said a postponement would &quot;dis-incentivize&quot; industry to make the transition.&quot;After all of our efforts we couldn&#39;t just turn around and say &#39;We&#39;re just kidding,&#39;&quot; he said.About 50 percent of all homes in the U.S. now have digital TVs, and the CEA forecasts that some 28 million digital TVs will be bought in the U.S. this year, Shapiro noted.The transition to digital will not only improve picture quality for consumers, but also free up spectrum that can be used for wireless broadband, Martin stressed. He also noted that the extra spectrum provided by the switch would be used to improve public safety, allowing for better communications between fire departments and police. The need for better coordination among law enforcement and safety officials was a major point made in the 9/11 Commission report, he noted.Requirements related to the auction for 700MHz spectrum blocks in the U.S. will play an important part in bringing broadband access to more people, such as inhabitants in rural areas, who have limited wireless options now, he said.The spectrum auction has been broken up into blocks. One block, for example, has open-access rules and is broken up into 12 regional licenses across the U.S. There are also &quot;buildout&quot; requirements that will ensure that auction winners will actually put the spectrum to use in a reasonable timeframe, Martin said.He declined to comment directly on the planned merger of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, currently under review by the Department of Justice. But he noted that the companies have been talking about a la carte pricing plans for shows, which would give consumers a wide range of options to choose different bundles of programs and prices. Martin said he would encourage content providers -- especially cable TV companies -- to offer this type of program-options plan.One disappointment in the wake of communications industry deregulation has been the rising price of cable TV, he said.Martin stopped short of saying that approval of the Sirius-XM merger would set a regulatory precedent for a rumored merger deal between satellite TV companies Echostar and DirecTV. But he did say that it would be important for the satellite TV companies to give consumers more pricing and program bundle options as part of any merger plan.&quot;This is the type of thing we&#39;d be looking at,&quot; he said.
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U.S. Federal Communications  Commission Chairman Kevin Martin has asked the agency's  inspector general to investigate why two draft reports on  television and radio ownership never saw the light of day until  now.
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With more conservatives in power, the Federal Communications Commission may become more forceful about indecency fines. The agency may even try to expand its jurisdiction into cable TV, satellite radio and the internet. By Randy Dotinga.
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In 2005, there's a good chance you or someone you know will buy a digital television set and a satellite radio and purchase a movie at home using a remote control or laptop. In the newspapers (strike that -- on the Internet), you'll read more about radio and television indecency and may very well see the Supreme Court take the first step toward tossing out the federal regulations that have kept NBC from looking more like HBO.
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The U.S. Federal Communications  Commission on Tuesday set a roadmap for making airwaves between  television channels available for other services by early 2009,  when broadcasters are due to switch to digital signals.
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After a congressional report last month criticized the FCC and private industry for not working better together to ensure a smoother DTV transition, one commissioner responded by saying the executive branch should get involved.
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Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c51136)  has announced the addition of Datamonitor's new report: Broadcasting &  Cable TV in France to their offering.
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TV Guide continues to inch toward the even smaller screen.
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By DAVID BAUDER  NEW YORK - TV news revisited the horror of Sept. 11 on Monday by replaying long stretches of coverage from that day as the events unfolded before a nation's eyes.
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Media and telecommunications mergers would likely face greater scrutiny by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission if Sen. John Kerry wins next week's presidential election, industry analysts and lobbyists say.
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CAPITOL HILL More charges about how the Pentagon handled CIA requests for corrections to information linking Iraq to al-Qaida. A report released today by Michigan Democratic Senator Carl Levin alleges that
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ABC moved forward with its miniseries "The Path to 9/11" on Sunday despite angry calls from former Clinton administration officials not to air it because it contained fabricated scenes about their actions prior to terrorist attacks.
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A TV mini-series about 9/11 was misrepresentative despite edits, the Clinton Foundation says.
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The Federal Communications Commission set new parameters on Tuesday for the size and scope of the largest news and cable companies.
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The U.S. Federal Communications Commission cannot stop the broadcast of a show critical of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry's anti-war comments after returning from Vietnam, the agency's head said on Thursday.