Brian Roberts: How Comcast's $4.4B Investment in the Olympics Will Pay Off Big-Time
March, 21, 2013 1:44 pm | Comments On #Brian Roberts, Comcast, Olympics, TelevisionComcast CEO Brian L. Roberts said Thursday that Comcast doesn’t expect to make a giant profit from the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro but defended its heavy spending to acquire rights to additional Olympic telecasts.
“I am so glad we stomached it,” he said of Comcast’s 2011 agreement to spend $4.38 billion to acquire additional rights.
“It is a fantastic platform for our company.”
Also read: NBC Wins Olympic Games TV Rights Through 2020, IOC Confirms
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Read MoreSupreme Court Copyright Decision May Spur Congress to Revise Laws
March, 20, 2013 3:55 pm | Comments On #congress, copyright law, Media, Supreme CourtA day after a U.S. Supreme Court decision allowed books and movies bought legally abroad to be resold in the U.S., members of House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday raised the possibility that the decision's biggest impact could be to spur Congress to revamp the nation’s copyright laws.
Already examining those laws because of concerns that digital technology has left them badly outdated, members of the House Intellectual Property and Internet Subcommittee suggested the high court decision provides one more reason to act.
“Yesterday’s opinion raises some concerns,” said Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga.
Rep. George Holding, R-N.C., repeatedly questioned Registrar of Copyrights Maria Pallante about the effect of the court decision.
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Read MoreColbert v. Sanford in South Carolina Race?
March, 20, 2013 12:02 pm | Comments On #Elizabth Colbert Busch, Mark Sanford, Stephen Colbert, TelevisionFinally a Democrat Stephen Colbert can support: His older sister won the Democratic primary in a South Carolina congressional race.
The satirist broke from his "Colbert Report" conservative character to back Elizabeth Colbert Busch in her first run for office. His backing included holding a breakfast fundraiser last month (pictured).
She may face a high-profile opponent in the May 7 special election, in a distict that leans heavily Republican: Disgraced former Gov. Mark Sanford, who famously went missing in 2009 before admitting he was having an affair, is headed to a run-off election.
He and his opponent, Curtis Bostic, topped a Republican field of 16...
Read MoreSupreme Court Refuses to Hear Streaming TV, Music Piracy Cases
March, 18, 2013 2:08 pm | Comments On #ivi, streaming, Supreme Court, Television
The Supreme Court without comment rejected attempts to overturn two big entertainment cases on Monday.
In one, TV networks and TV station owners won a court order that effectively shut down Seattle pay-TV service ivi’s effort to offer viewers TV signals over the web without paying broadcasters retransmission fees.
While ivi argued it was acting no different than a cable system in giving viewers access to programming for a $4.99 a month package, broadcasters argued that it had acted illegally in retransmitting signals without permission.
Also read:...
Read MoreReuters' Social-Media Editor Indicted for Helping 'Anonymous' Hack L.A. Times Website
March, 14, 2013 3:44 pm | Comments On #Anonymous, hacking, Television, the Tribune Company
A former web producer at Tribune Co.’s Sacramento TV station KTXL Fox 40 was indicted Thursday and accused of providing critical login information that allowed notorious hacker “Anonymous” to break into and alter the L.A. Times' website in 2010, shortly after he was terminated by the station.
Matthew Keys, 26, the deputy social media editor of Reuters Thomson, was charged in the Eastern District of California in a three-count indictment. He is slated for arraignment April 12 in Sacramento.
In the hack, members of Anonymous altered a story on House Democrats to read in part, “Pressure Builds in House to...
Read MoreFTC Demands Full Disclosure in Celeb Endorsements on Twitter, Other Social Media
March, 13, 2013 11:49 am | Comments On #advertising, celebrities, Media, twitterCelebrity endorsers have come under fire again from the feds -- and this time the issue is full disclosure when they are being paid for engaging in social media.
After an incident when Lauren Bacall showed up on “Today” promoting a drug without disclosing she was being paid, the Federal Trade Commission warned celebrities -- and the marketers that use them -- about not disclosing paid endorsements. It afterward took steps to ensure bloggers disclose when they are being compensated for their comments.
Also read:...
Read MoreSenator Wants to Give FCC Power to Curb Violence in Media
March, 12, 2013 5:17 pm | Comments On #films, Jay Rockefeller, Media, Senate, Television, violenceThe chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee said Tuesday that he intends to make one last attempt to give the Federal Communications Commission the legal authority to rein in violence in the media before retiring from the Senate in 2015.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., who on several occasions has tried unsuccessfully to get his committee to grant the FCC broad authority, made the promise during an FCC oversight hearing.
“I could go on to violence, but you know what I would say. I know what you would answer,” Rockefeller told the five FCC commissioners present.
He urged the FCC to follow up the studies it did on violent programming in 2007 and 2009, but made clear that further FCC progress depended on Congressional action.
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Read MorePirates, Beware: Industry, ISPs Launch Copyright Alert System
February, 25, 2013 1:53 pm | Comments On #illegal downloading, Media, Motion Picture Association of America, piracyThe entertainment’s industry new piracy warnings to computer users started flowing Monday as the industry and internet service providers finally launched their long-promised Copyright Alert System.
Announced in 2011 and originally set to begin by the end of 2012, the alert system is an effort by the movie, TV and recording industries and major cable providers to move much more swiftly to issue warnings whenever copyright owners discover that an account is being used to access or download pirated content.
Also read: Studios, Internet Providers Adopt Punitive Piracy Warning System
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Read MoreTony Kushner to Congressman on Inaccuracy: 'Lincoln' Is Drama, Not History
February, 08, 2013 9:11 am | Comments On #joe courtney, Lincoln, Movies, Steven Spielberg, Tony KushnerTony Kushner hit back on Friday at a Connecticut congressman who complained about historical inaccuracies in the Oscar-nominated "Lincoln," saying his factual tweaks added to the film's drama.
On Tuesday, Democratic Connecticut Rep. Joe Courtney wrote an open letter to director Steven Spielberg, about the inaccuracies. In the film, two congressmen from his home state vote against 13th Amendment and two voted for -- but archives in the House of Representatives show that the entire Nutmeg State's delegation said "yea" to the abolition of slavery.
Also read: ...
Read MoreHollywood to the FAA: Let Us Use Drones! (Exclusive)
February, 05, 2013 12:13 pm | Comments On #Drones, Movies, SkyfallLook, up in the sky. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s …
If the Motion Picture Association of America has its way, it soon could be a camera-equipped pilotless drone shooting the overhead chase scenes for Hollywood's action thrillers.
The MPAA is pushing the Federal Aviation Administration to allow the use of what have been called “drones” -- but in the movie business are far more likely the size of model planes and model helicopters than anything like what the U.S. is using to target terrorists.
Studios see the airborne vehicles as a way to get better long shots with fewer safety risks and at reduced cost. Currently, such drone use is legal in some foreign countries, but not in the U.S.
In fact, some of the opening scenes in “Skyfall” were shot in Turkey using a helicopter drone system. France has also...
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What happens when the political world and the entertainment industry collide. From FCC policy wonks to the MPAA to celebs at the White House, it’s TheWrap on Washington.
