An Ignoble Experiment

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For the second time this year, a veteran U.S. senator has introduced legislation that, if enacted, could have real implications for the online video industry. This time, that senator happens to be chair of the committee in charge of most media legislation. So this bill has a better chance of actually becoming a law.

But that's not saying much, because the bar has been set pretty low. While the video legislation introduced by Arizona Republican John McCain earlier this year gained an important co-sponsor in Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) over the summer, McCain lacks a spot on the Senate Commerce Committee needed to shepherd the bill though the legislative process. That bill would require certain a la carte provisions for pay-TV distributors and their suppliers and create some restrictions for how broadcasters could react to the threat presented by Aereo's legal victories. Its prospects are slim at best.

The Consumer Choice in Online Video Act, which Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said he would introduce Tuesday, has no such committee handicap. Rockefeller is exactly the right person to sponsor such legislation if it is to have any chance of passing. As chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, he sets the agenda for the committee and controls what bills move toward a vote. In essence, McCain would have to convince Rockefeller to take up his a la carte bill if he wants it to have a shot at passing the Senate. Rockefeller only has to convince himself.

But that doesn't mean the Rockefeller bill's prospects are good--just a bit less slim...continued

Read the full column on the Web

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Today's Top Stories

1. Hulu said to seek pay-TV partnership

By Josh Wein

Comment |

Hulu, having decided against selling itself to a pay-TV distributor earlier this year, is now in talks with cable operators and other TV providers about the possibility of partnering with them, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The idea behind the potential partnerships, according to the Journal, which cited "people familiar with the situation," is to have pay-TV distributors bundle Hulu Plus service with their video product and integrate Hulu's app on their set-top boxes.

That would let subscribers more easily watch full seasons of hit broadcast TV shows, which are often not available through pay-TV distributors' on-demand products.

Hulu is said to have had preliminary talks with cable operators including Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), Cox, Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T (NYSE: T).

The report is further evidence that online video providers are seeing pay-TV providers as a way to boost their distribution. Earlier this year, Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) was said to be in talks with U.S. cable operators about adding its app to the set-top boxes they lease to subscribers--a partnership it has pulled off a handful of times overseas with the help of TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO).

For more:
- the Wall Street Journal had this report (sub. req.)

2. Intel's OTT service reportedly draws Liberty Global's interest

By Josh Wein

Comment |

The over-the-top video service planned by Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) that has failed to get off the ground could end up in the hands of cable industry veteran John Malone. According to Bloomberg News, Malone's Liberty Global (Nasdaq: LBTYA) company, which operates cable systems overseas, is talking with Intel about buying the service.

Citing three people "with knowledge of the situation," Bloomberg News reported Liberty Global would use the Intel technology outside the United States.

Last month, Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and Intel were reported to be in similar discussions. Intel has also reportedly reached out to Samsung and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) about partnering on the service.

Should the Intel product end up in Verizon's hands, it would probably prompt Verizon to offer a nationwide over-the-top pay-TV service, Richard Greenfield, an analyst with BTIG Research, wrote on the bank's blog.

According to a report in Multichannel News, Verizon is not interested in offering that kind of service but wants Intel's media division in order to upgrade the software it uses within its physical footprint. The report also suggested Verizon has courted John Malone's Liberty Media (Nasdaq: LMCA), a U.S. investment company that owns part of cable operator Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR), to make a joint bid on the service.

For more:
- Bloomberg News had this report
- Multichannel News had this report
- read Richard Greenfield's blog (reg. req.)

Commentary: When will OTT Pay-TV arrive?

3. Senate bill would expand online video rights, obligations

By Josh Wein

Comment |

A bill in the senate could give online video distributors new protections against anti-competitive behavior by incumbent pay-TV operators while also putting new obligations on companies that use the Internet to deliver pay-TV-like services.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said he would introduce the Consumer Choice in Online Video Act to extend some of the protections traditional pay-TV providers already enjoy to online video distributors. "Online video companies who want to offer services similar to those provided by cable and satellite companies would be given regulatory parity with those existing services," a fact sheet published by the Senate Commerce Committee said.

The bill would also limit Internet service providers (ISPs) from degrading the quality of so-called over-the-top video services and would require greater transparency in ISP billing so consumers "can make informed decisions about which package and speed best fits their needs," the fact sheet said.

"My legislation aims to enable the ultimate a la carte, letting customers pick what programming they want and only pay for what they actually watch," Rockefeller said in a press release. "Consumers must be able to benefit from online video's promise of decreased costs, increased choice and higher-quality video content."

The press release didn't go into specifics, but the term "regulatory parity" could mean added obligations for online video distributors. Traditional pay-TV distributors have certain closed-captioning and emergency alert requirements and are required to carry the signals of certain little-watched TV stations.

For more:
- read Rockefeller's press release
- the LA Times had this report

Commentary: Aereo, Congress and an expiring satellite TV law

Read more about: OTT, pay-tv
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4. Roku devices will get Disney TV Everywhere apps

By Josh Wein

Comment |

Roku owners who also subscribe to certain pay-TV providers will be able to access Disney's (NYSE: DIS) suite of WATCH apps through the streaming video device.

Disney's WatchESPN app will be immediately available to Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), Bright House, Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) FiOS TV, Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), Midcontinent Communications, Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), Cox, AT&T's (NYSE:T) U-verse, Charter (Nasdaq: CHTR) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Fiber subscribers whose pay-TV package includes ESPN.

Subscribers of those operators who subscribe to the Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD will be able to access the WATCH apps for those networks later this month.

"We are adding value to the multichannel video subscription through this agreement," Matt Murphy, senior vice president of digital distribution for Disney and ESPN Media Networks, said in a press release.

For more:
- read the press release

Read more about: AT&T, Comcast
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5. Disney bringing some Marvel franchises to Netflix

By Josh Wein

Comment |