Cable Industry Mobilizes Lobbying Army to Block F.C.C. Moves (NY Times)
Giants like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon oppose plans to limit broadband providers’ ability to share users’ data and to open the market for set-top boxes. The behind-the-scenes activity by cable companies and their industry groups is part of the biggest lobbying push by the $115 billion industry in Washington since 2009.
The app boom is over (Recode)
The mobile app boom kicked off in July 2008, when Apple introduced the App Store. Now it is over. People are still making plenty of apps, of course. And many people are still downloading them. But the go-go growth days are gone. If you are an independent app developer or publisher, you have probably known this for a while.
For Gawker, think of this as the end of it all (Media Life- Commentary)
Even before the Hulk Hogan verdict had been handed down, and before that verdict led the company to file for bankruptcy last week, things were changing at Gawker. If the sale to Ziff Davis goes through, the trash journalism it has long served up and recently been phasing out will be tossed aside entirely.
LDN’s Alpha, slated to launch later in 2016, will deliver a stream of live, interactive programming designed to let fans literally become part of the shows, centered on the two brands’ roots in geek and popular-culture content. The service will let subscribers interact with each other as well as with the shows’ personalities and content.
4 Takeaways from Pew’s Social Media News Report (Media Shift)
A new report from Pew Research Center shows an increase in the number of people in the United States getting their news from social media platforms. The report revealed that more than 62 percent said they get news on social media, which is about a 13 percent increase since 2012.
HOW MUCH DO ISPS HATE COMPETITION? THEY’LL SUE THE FCC TO PREVENT IT (ARS Technica)
Two lobby groups representing small and medium-sized Internet service providers have taken the first step toward suing the FCC over a ruling designed to boost competition. The groups are trying to overturn a condition imposed on Charter’s purchase of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks.
RIGHTS OF WAY (Science Direct- Commentary)
Telecommunications providers use rights-of-way to build physical network infrastructure on lands they do not own. Agreements to use these lands are usually made with public landowners such as local governments. Traditional rules for these negotiations are based on public utilities law and the common law of land ownership.
VERIZON SEEKS RELIEF (Fierce Telecom)
Verizon is petitioning the FCC to get permission to shut down a series of legacy voice services offered via its MCI subsidiary due to lack of use and little customer demand. Similar to an earlier call to discontinue calling card services, Verizon notes in an FCC filing that the services “are all outdated legacy services.”
Tribune Stations Go Dark On Dish In 33 Mkts. (TV News Check)
Millions of Dish subscribers lost access to 42 TV stations Sunday night after Dish and Tribune failed to reach an agreement on renewing their retrans deal. “Tribune is demanding an unreasonable rate increase for channels that are available for free over the air,” said Dish’s Warren Schlichting.
TV Still Global Media King, Mobile Growing (Campaigns and Elections)
New figures out today show TV remains the top draw for eyeballs, desktop internet use is waning and mobile’s slice of people’s screen time is growing. The study from Zenith finds TV attracted 177 minutes of consumption a day in 2015, while internet consumption came second at 110 minutes a day.
McConnell Gives Thumbs Down to FCC’s Set-Top Box Rule (Inside Sources)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell became the latest and highest-ranking legislator to come out against the FCC’s set-top box proposal Friday, asking Chair Tom Wheeler to “reconsider moving forward” with making pay-TV providers content available on third-party devices.
Company wants full access to your social media accounts to spy for landlords, employers (Network World)
Would you hand over complete access to your private social media messages so a landlord or employer can decide if you are worthy of housing or a job? A UK startup believes you will and that you have nothing to worry about if you live ‘a normal life.’
NSA Looks To Tap Into Internet Of Things (Engadget)
The National Security Agency is reportedly looking into how it can gather even more foreign intelligence information from internet-connected devices ranging from thermostats to pacemakers. NSA deputy director Richard Ledgett said the agency is “looking at it sort of theoretically from a research point of view right now.”