Proposal

U.K. and Ofcom Support Proposal to Sell Unused Broadcast Spectrum

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 27, 2006 - 11:50am.

London - The U.K. government and Ofcom, the U.K. telecommunications watchdog, have both endorsed a plan to allow parts of unwanted or unused spectrum to be auctioned in order to raise funds for the government. "The government agrees with the audit that there is scope for more effective use of public sector spectrum through the introduction of spectrum trading and increased sharing with other users, and will work with Ofcom to enable this," the U.K. government said. The government insisted that it would ensure that enough spectrum is available for national security, defense and public services. The U.S. government hopes to raise billions of dollars when it auctions off spectrum freed by the transition to digital television broadcasting, now scheduled to take place on Feb. 17, 2009.

EU Proposal Would Allow Product Placement in TV Shows

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 14, 2005 - 10:39am.

Strasbourg, France - The European Commission has proposed new rules to govern the distribution of "moving images" in the European Union, which for the first time may allow the practice -- common in America -- of including product placement in TV shows, Reuters reported. The use of product placement is growing in the U.S., alongside the growing popularity of digital video recorders that let viewers skip past TV commercials. But the practice has been banned in many EU nations, where current rules also limit the amount of TV advertising to 12 minutes per hour. The new rules would also bring video delivered over the Internet under the auspices of the Commission. "It would be a distortion of competition if we were to just regulate one and not all," EU Information Commissioner Viviane Reding told reporters. The new "television without frontiers" proposals still must gain approval of the European Parliament and EU member states.

tags: Product Placement | TV Shows | EU | Proposal |

EU Welcomes Antitrust Compliance Proposal from Microsoft

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 6, 2005 - 10:58am.

Brussels -- The European Commission on Monday welcomed a proposal from Microsoft that could soon lead to the resolution of a protracted antitrust dispute between the U.S.-based software giant and the EU. "I am happy that Microsoft has recognized certain principles which must underlie its implementation of the Commission's decision," EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said, adding that the Commission would now consult with industry players about the proposals. In a landmark ruling against Microsoft last March, the Commission fined the company 487 million euro for abusing its market position and ordered it to offer a version of its Windows operating systems sans Media Player. What's more, the Commission ordered Microsoft to share protocol information with rivals. A decision on whether Microsoft has complied with the ruling could come in a matter of weeks, officials said.

tags: Microsoft | Antitrust | EU | Proposal |

Microsoft Awaits EU Response After Submitting Antitrust Proposal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 1, 2005 - 5:04am.

Brussels -- The EU announced that it has begun studying a compliance proposal that was submitted by software giant Microsoft just before deadline at midnight on Tuesday. The eleventh-hour proposal was just the latest development in a long-running antitrust dispute between the European Commission and Microsoft, which still could face massive fines equal to 5% of its global sales, according to EU officials. "The contacts continued late yesterday evening, and now we're examining what they've put on the table," said EU spokesman Jonathon Todd. "The Commission will now carefully analyze what has been put on the table and decide whether or not we consider that Microsoft has complied with the March 2004 decision." Last March, the Commission ruled that Microsoft had abused its market dominance in servers and media player software and ordered the company to share protocol information with rivals. A decision is expected by the end of next month.

tags: Microsoft | Antitrust | EU | Proposal |

Disney Rejects Comcast's $49 Billion Merger Proposal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 17, 2004 - 8:55am.

Burbank, Calif. -- The Walt Disney Company announced on Monday that its board of directors has unanimously rejected a $49 billion unsolicited merger proposal from Comcast, the nation's largest cable TV provider. In a statement announcing its rejection of Comcast's offer, Disney's board said that it "has confidence in the business, financial and creative direction of Disney under the leadership of Michael Eisner." The board also noted that Comcast's valuation of Disney was 15% lower than its current share price. "We are committed to creating shareholder value now and in the future and will carefully consider any legitimate proposal that would accomplish that objective," the Disney board said in its statement. "The interests of Disney shareholders, which represent the fundamental priority of the board, would not be served by accepting any acquisition proposal that does not reflect fully Disney's intrinsic value and earnings prospects."

tags: Disney | Comcast | Proposal | Merger |

Royalty Logic Files Opposition to RIAA/Webcaster Music Royalty Proposal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 15, 2003 - 2:05am.

Washington -- An independent royalty collection body has filed an objection to the recent joint proposal on Web music royalties filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Digital Media Association, a group representing large webcasters. Royalty Logic, currently the only independent alternative to the recording industry's SoundExchange authorized to collect royalties from webcasters to be paid to artists and record labels, filed the opposition with the U.S. Copyright Office. In its filing, Burbank, Calif.-based Royalty Logic argues that the proposal submitted by record labels and the big webcasters would eliminate competition in royalty collection, because artists and copyright owners would not be able to choose a royalty collection agent such as itself that does not first deduct litigation costs and other administrative fees charged by SoundExchange before delivering royalty payments. Royalty Logic says it should be allowed to offer its customers "lower administration costs, more flexible terms, more frequent payments, greater transparency in operation and better access to information." If the U.S. Copyright Office accepts Royalty Logic's position, or for some other reason rejects the RIAA/DiMA Web royalties proposal, another oft-criticized (CARP) Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel proceeding will be held.

RIAA, Digital Media Association Submit Joint Web Music Royalty Proposal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 3, 2003 - 3:20am.

Washington -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), a group representing major record labels, and the Digital Media Association, which represents a group of webcasters, on Thursday submitted a proposal on industry-wide royalties that Internet radio services would pay to recording companies for use of their music in 2003 and 2004. Digital Media Association executive director Jonathan Potter called the agreement "a temporary band-aid that avoids millions of dollars of legal fees associated with a broken arbitration process, and thereby enables resources to be focused on high-quality programming that is enjoyed by millions of listeners." Additionally, Potter sided with lawmakers' efforts to reform the widely-criticized CARP (Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel) process which set the rates that currently apply for Web music royalties.

tags: RIAA | Digital Media | Proposal | Royalty |