NAB Convention Notebook...
TV Music License Committee sees real progress in its music licensing agreement with BMI, officials said here. Settlement at least partially accepts TV station arguments that each station’s actual audience is down, and that amount of music used on each station is down because of growth of news, talk and reality programming, said Catherine Nierle of Post-Newsweek Stations. Settlement also includes license covering stations’ web sites, both for live and archived streaming, and DTV signals, she said. One concern, said broadcaster lawyer Bruce Rich, is that new licensing firm, SESAC, is competing for music composers by promising higher license fees. Traditional groups BMI and ASCAP have had to counter with their own fee promises, Rich said, and broadcasters worry fees will be passed on to them. New final se agreements provide local broadcast TV stations with public performance rights to BMI’s repertoire of about 4.5 million musical works. Agreements run from April 1999 through Dec. 2004. Parties agreed to settlement for April 1999 through Dec. 2001 period that will be paid by local TV stations over next 3 years along with their newly agreed to fees. Stations licensed on blanket basis will pay their allocated share of $85 million annual blanket base fee. Stations also may choose per-program license agreement, and will pay their allocated share of $98.1 million per program base fee. Under new agreements, stations can Webcast locally produced news and news-based public affairs programming on live or archived basis from their Internet sites. Stations’ digital TV signals also are covered in agreements. “We have worked hard with representatives from the local television industry to create an agreement that fairly compensates BMI songwriters, composers and music publishers and encourages our television customers to use BMI works for the purpose of increasing their viewership,” BMI CEO Frances Preston said. TMLC Co- Chmn Charles Sennet said new agreement “provides fair compensation to BMI for their share of the music we broadcast on local television. This was and will continue to be the focus of our negotiations with all music performing rights organizations.”
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Still-vacant commissioner slot at FCC was discussed Mon. at congressional breakfast here. Referring to opposition by Senate Minority Leader Lott (R-Miss.) to Daschle staffer Jonathan Adelstein, Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking Republican Burns (Mont.) said “we've got a little war going on over there.” He drew laugh when he told NAB attendees “we'll get that taken care of after Thanksgiving break.” Turning serious, he said “we need to get a commissioner in there” and he continues to support Democratic Mont. PUC Comr. Bob Roe. Lott has said he favors House Commerce Committee ranking Democrat Dingell (D-Mich.) staffer Andrew Levin, which has raised some eyebrows on Capitol Hill because Adelstein and Lott both are seen as sympathetic to IXCs and Dingell is co-sponsor of pro-Bell Tauzin-Dingell. Levin was on Hill panel here Mon. but, other than opening joke by moderator, his potential candidacy was not discussed.
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No one at FCC was particularly surprised at latest court remand to Commission, this time on broadcast ownership, said 2 legal advisors and its chief of staff. However, Comr. Martin’s legal adviser Catherine Bohigian did say latest one rejecting Commission’s defense of multiple voices in markets was notable in one way: “I was a little surprised that the argument between the majority opinion and the dissent was whether the FCC was wrong or really, really wrong.” Chief of Staff Marsha MacBride -- last-min. substitution for Chmn. Powell’s legal adviser Susan Eid -- said courts had supported goal of viewpoint diversity, so challenge for FCC is to find way to craft order that supports that goal and can be defended. NAB moderator raised concern with repeater licenses’ being considered for satellite operators such as Sirius -- that providers might try to offer local content origination with repeaters. However, Comr. Abernathy’s legal adviser Stacy Robinson said language allowing repeaters forbade local origination. Asked whether that didn’t violate First Amendment, MacBride said FCC always had been allowed to “differentiate between types of services” with its licenses. Panel as always at these shows reflected caution on part of FCC participants, but also was skewed somewhat this time in that legal adviser for FCC’s lone Democrat, Comr. Copps, was unable to make session. -- PR
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Convergence is theme of NAB 2002, something impossible to ignore as it’s plastered on large green signs adorning convention centers, buses, podiums, flyers, even placards on breakfast and lunch tables. However, NAB New Media keynote speaker Marc Andreessen said Mon. that “I don’t believe in convergence.” Netscape and LoudCloud founder said “if this were a converged world, we'd all live in houseboats and we'd all eat with sporks.” He said he loved concept of spork -- spoon and fork combination he said still could be found at KFC -- “but sporks are not a good spoon and are not a good fork.” Same reasoning applied to houseboats, he said, which fall short in both categories. Andreessen argued that consumers would be happy with multiple devices on their person and in their homes if those devices provided better service than combined components, and blamed engineers in search of “perfect solutions” for their focus on convergence. Those ubiquitous green convergence signs, meanwhile, provide insight on NAB’s view of issue, much like famous New Yorker magazine cover showed world view as seen by Manhattanites. In very large font, words Radio and Television sit at top. Below them in slightly smaller font are words Audio and Video. Just below that, in still smaller font, are Satellite and Broadband. Word Streaming, again in slightly smaller font, follows. Then, in font truly visible only on large banners adorning Las Vegas Convention Center exhibit hall walls, are three final words: Telecommunications, Internet and Wireless. -- PR
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Some members of Congress here suggested that while there might be hearings if a broadcast network chose to abandon its evening news (something some are rumored to be considering in era of 24-hr. cable news channels), no one predicted legislation would result. Rep. Green (D-Tex.) said local TV stations relied on network news operations to assist with their own newsgathering, adding cryptically that if network did abandon evening news, “I think we could see some effort from Congress.” Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking Republican Burns (Mont.), former broadcaster, differed, saying local TV news producer, “if he has to go to another outlet [for national news] he is going to do that.” House Judiciary Committee Chmn. Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) drew laughter by saying if nightly news programs and ABC’s Nightline disappeared “our approval ratings will go up 10%.” He said there likely would be hearings because any time congressional committee holds hearing of interest to broadcasters, all TV crews appear to record it “and we get our mugs on TV.”
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Community Bcstrs. Assn. (CBA) is having difficulty recruiting member of Congress to introduce bill granting must-carry status to low-power TV (LPTV) stations, CBS Exec. Dir. Mike Sullivan said at Sun. night membership meeting, although it was close in both houses. With proposal opposed by NAB, “this has been more difficult and challenging than anything we have ever done,” he said. To help, he proposed CBAers “write a check for $500 to your local congressman. Pay no attention to whether he’s Republican or Democrat. We're highly bipartisan.” Keith Larsen, chief engineer of FCC Media Bureau, gave overview of LPTV activities at agency, saying Commission was preparing to issue rulemaking designed to bring LPTVs “into the digital world.” Major problem, he said, will be lack of spectrum space to fit in low powers. Otherwise, he said no “big-ticket” items were pending on low- power issues. CBA outside counsel Peter Tannenwald warned that some cable channels now were demanding -- in return for adding LPTV -- share of proceeds if station is sold. -- TN
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Broadcaster Web sites pose new legal liabilities because they turn broadcasters into publishers that can reach other states and worldwide markets, panelists said late Mon. at NAB show. Web site “makes you a global publisher” that can face suits anywhere in world, said Mike DiSilvestro of Media/Professional Insurance Agency. He said Web site also could cause many new problems because Web content stays available longer and because it often isn’t scrutinized as carefully by editors as on-air content. Tribune Bcstg. Gen. Counsel Charles Sennet agreed stations could get in trouble if news on site became outdated, such as if charges against person mentioned on site were dropped. Site also can increase problems if on-air story causes legal difficulties because content isn’t removed, he said, because it eliminates argument that journalist did best he or she could with time available. Attorney Mark Prak even suggested separate cyberliability insurance for Web site, saying even if lawsuit were unjustified it could be expensive. On more typical broadcast issues, speakers said number of TV lawsuits was growing, particularly for invasion of privacy. “That is where the lawyers are making their money,” DiSilvestro said, because privacy suits aren’t as well protected by First Amendment and therefore are easier to get to juries. He said such suits could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend, even if plaintiff lost in end. In potential jury polling, DiSilvestro said, media insurer found that 90% of potential jurors believed media never should go on police ride-alongs and govt. should set regulations on such coverage.