Digital Tv

No more analog TV for Verizon

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:24:33 -0500

Verizon Communications has completely eliminated analog TV simulcasts throughout its 14-state FiOS TV footprint, with just under two months to go before the federally-mandated digital TV transition deadline on Feb. 17, 2009. Verizon first told the Federal Communications Commission in the summer of 2007 that it would phase-out analog, provided the FCC waive its ban on set-top boxes with integrated security functions. FiOS TV customers now need set-top boxes, digital converters or TVs with built-in digital QAM tuners.

Verizon is one service provider that has been aggressive and ultra-communicative about its transition to all-digital. In recent weeks, TV commercials featuring celebrities explaining the transition have seemed fairly ubiquitous as well, and Frank N. Magid Associates said in an HDTV-related report this week that the majority of consumers probably have made the arrangements they needed to make in advance of the transition. Magid also believes, however, that HD programming adoption could jump after the DTV deadline because many consumer incorrectly believe that all TV content will be presented in HD after the transition date. About 29 percent of respondents to a Magid survey made that incorrect assumption.

For more:
- Multichannel News reports on Verizon's phase-out
- Magid recently conducted a DTV survey

FCC eyes digital TV channel changes

Dan O'Shea — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:46:04 -0500

The Federal Communications Commission had a long, busy day Tuesday, approving several items with major wireless implications, including the Verizon acquisition of Alltel, the Sprint-Clearwire joint venture and the white spaces usage plan. In the shadow of those decision was another move worth noting: The FCC said it will investigate the increasingly common practice of Verizon Communications and cable TV operators moving analog video channels into more expensive digital service tiers as the companies make room for more high-definition channels.

"I'm certainly concerned with the increasing cable prices that consumers are facing," FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told the Associated Press. "They are getting less and being charged the same or more." The channel switching might require customers who had less expensive service packages to sign up for more expensive ones. The FCC also apparently is concerned that some service providers are confusing consumers, leading them to think the channel moves have something to do with the upcoming February 2009 digital TV transition

The FCC has notified several companies of its investigation, including Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc., Cox Communications Inc., Charter Communications Inc., Cablevision Systems Corp., Bright House Networks, Suddenlink Communications, Bend Cable Communications, GCI Company, Harron Entertainment, a unit of Harron Communications, RCN Corp. and Verizon.

For more:
- The Associated press has this report

Verizon: Must-carry obligation unnecessary

Dan O'Shea — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:15:53 -0400

Verizon Communications said in a Federal Communications Commission filing that traditional legal obligations for cable TV providers to carry certain free TV stations on their networks--the so-called must-carry rule--is no longer necessary because the cable TV market is much more competitive now. Verizon is not seeking to protect the cable TV industry, only itself, as the telco becomes an increasingly successful provider of cable TV-like services.

The FCC is currently considering expanding the must-carry rule to a larger number of low-power TV stations. More than 1,700 full power TV stations and a few low-power stations currently qualify for must-carry.

It is interesting to see Verizon play the role of upstart competitor, looking for some regulatory relief on the grounds that it is not a dominant force in the market. That claim has some relevance now, but perhaps not for long.

For more:
- check out this coverage at Multichannel News

DTV transition getting dicey

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:41:30 -0400

The February 2009 digital TV transition is a little more than six months away, and things are starting to get kind of confusing. The Federal Communications Commission reportedly is almost ready to issue an order that would grant small cable TV providers--who are also rural telcos in many cases--an exemption from the "must carry" rule. That is the rule, passed by the FCC almost a year ago, saying cable TV operators who don't go all-digital by next February must carry both analog and digital channels on their networks.

Doing so requires more network capacity than many of the smallest providers have, so it appears the FCC is now set to grant companies with less than 552 Mhz of activated capacity and fewer than 2,500 subscribers a three-year exemption. The National Association of Broadcasters opposes the exemption, and it does raise the concern that what was supposed to be an industry-wide transition could fall apart at a time when many programmers have made the commitment to digital programming. Many of the big cable TV service providers are moving forward too, including Verizon Communications, which has been gradually shutting off analog service in some of the markets where its cable TV-like FiOS TV service is offered.

The small market providers may not have the money to meet the must-carry mandate, but the exemption would help create an environment in which TV customers in small markets are left out of the rapidly evolving advanced TV age. Also, while the markets that the smallest cable TV operators serve are not necessarily the most competitive, an exemption would give the IPTV providers who might be eying those markets more time to perfect their own advanced services. It seems we are about to have yet another kind of digital divide on our hands.

-Dan

For more:
- see this story at Light Reading's Cable Digital News

Broadcom to acquire AMD's DTV business

Dan O'Shea — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:46:56 -0400

Broadcom, the semiconductor giant that makes chips for IPTV set-top boxes among other products, has agreed to acquire the digital TV operations of fellow chip firm AMD for almost $193 million in cash. Broadcom has other DTV solutions, but said the unit will be the central piece in its evolving DTV efforts, and that it will invite all of the AMD employees affected by the acquisition to join its company.

This deal comes just a few months after NXP Semiconductors acquired the broadband media unit of Conexant Systems, an acquisition which was seen as a direct attempt by NXP to become more competitive against other chip firms like Broadcom. More chip-related M&A in this sector would not come as a surprise at this point.

For more:
-see this story at Multichannel News

Related articles:
NXP acquired the Conexant unit in May. NXP report
Broadcom has a deal with Verizon that may involve FiOS. Broadcom report

Verizon continues analog phase-out

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:50:06 -0400

Verizon Communications earlier this year began the process of phasing out analog broadcast in some of its East Coast markets. On July 21, Maryland and Northern Virginia will be added to the program, which already has seen Verizon stop using analog signals for its FiOS TV services in New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York.

The telco informed the Federal Communications Commission last year that it would eliminate analog channel delivery in advance of the agency's all-digital mandate set to take effect in February 2009. The move allowed the telco to qualify for a waiver on deploying set-top boxes with embedded security functions.

For more:
- see this post at Multichannel News

Related articles:
The digital TV transition may help cable TV providers competitively. Digital TV report
Verizon phased out analog transmission in New York in April. Verizon report