Silicon Valley Media Law Blog

The FCC released a report to Congress yesterday summarizing its findings on competition in the video marketplace. Summary points from the news release relating to digital video:

"Incumbent local exchange carriers (“ILECs”) have reported plans to provide video service. The larger LECs have accelerated their plans to roll out video services. Verizon has received franchises from numerous local communities and began offering multichannel video service, under the brand name “FiOS,” in several of them. SBC is planning to deploy an IP-enabled broadband network called “Project Lightspeed,” and Qwest and a number of smaller incumbent LECs are offering, or preparing to offer, MVPD service over existing telephone lines using VDSL or ADSL technologies."

"Several major cellular telephone companies are offering video services through handheld devices such as mobile telephones. Verizon Wireless rolled out V-Cast, a service that offers video programming to cellular telephone users, in February 2005."

"The amount of web-based video provided over the Internet continues to increase significantly each year."

"The video industry continues to evaluate the use of advanced compression technologies, such as MPEG-4/H.264 and Microsoft’s VC-1, to replace the MPEG-2 standard in order to decrease the amount of bandwidth required to transmit digital video. These advances are expected to allow existing video delivery services to provide more programming and to decrease barriers to entry for new entrants to the MVPD market."

Here are excerpts from the report on Internet video:

"The amount of web-based video provided over the Internet continues to increase significantly each year. As we have reported in the past, many traditional broadcast and nonbroadcast programmers are currently providing streaming and downloadable video content on their Internet web pages, as do many independent content producers. Several companies are also using the Internet, coupled with a television set-top box that allows an on-screen guide, to provide video directly to a television set. In addition, several companies are using Internet Protocol technology to provide facilities-based IP video, as are many independent content producers."

"Streaming Video. Video streamed over the Internet through the web (sent from the content provider to the subscriber in real-time) is still most viable when delivered over broadband networks. Even with the most advanced compression technology available, broadcast quality video is not possible over a 56 kbps dialup connection. Broadcast quality video is possible, however, at 768 kbps with advanced compression/decompression technology (codecs500) and at 1.5 Mbps or higher broadcast quality standard-definition MPEG-2 is possible. Some industry observers continue to believe, however, that widespread adoption of streaming video will only be possible if connection speeds significantly increase over those currently achieved over cable and DSL broadband. As we reported last year, the Internet2 network continues to facilitate high-quality streaming video using its highly reliable 10 Gbps backbone. The Internet2 network, however, continues to primarily serve the research and academic communities."

"Regardless of the fact that there is relatively minimal availability of high-quality video from such high-speed networks as the Internet2, many households continue to access streaming video using dial-up and residential high-speed Internet access connections. The overall number of homes with access to the Internet continues to grow, as does the number of Americans who access the Internet via a high-speed broadband connection. According to one report, as of June 2005, there were approximately 33.7 million residential high-speed Internet access subscribers, representing approximately 48 percent of the 70.3 million residential Internet subscription households. As of January 2005, an average of 14 percent of all Americans had watched some form of streaming video in the past month, and approximately eight percent of Americans had accessed streaming video content in the past week."

"Many traditional programmers continue to offer streaming video on their websites to increase access to and supplement their regular television programming content. For example, CBS News, CNN, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon offer 24-hour web access to some regularly featured television programming; ESPN.com has partnered with Major League Baseball to provide access to baseball games and baseball highlights; College Sports TV provides access to live video feeds of some college football games; MTV offers access to regularly featured programming and supplemental content; and In2TV, a partnership between AOL and Warner Bros., allows consumers to stream full-length episodes of popular television series from a library of thousands of television programs. In addition, some traditional content producers are also offering new and unique content over the Internet via the web. For example, Scripps Networks has announced that it will launch ten web-based video channels by the end of 2006; AOL continues to offer such exclusive and specialized video content as the Live8 concert and music videos; and Yahoo and Google are both exploring original content for distribution via the web. Clear Channel Communications plans to add original streaming video programming to some 200 local radio stations’ web sites. Maxim Magazine plans to offer free streaming video programming on-demand to Internet users via MSN’s video streaming service. MTV plans to launch a free hybrid linear video and video-on-demand channel called MTV Overdrive. “The Knot TV” is a 24-hour streaming video channel featuring wedding-related shows."

"Downloadable Video. As we reported last year, we expect that a large amount of video available through the web will be downloadable video. Downloadable video is available on the websites of both traditional programmers and independent producers of video content. There are numerous online services that allow users to download content to a computer hard drive for viewing on a personal computer, television, or mobile video device. In October 2005, Disney’s ABC and Apple’s iTunes entered into a deal to offer current and past season episodes of ABC and Disney Channel television shows for download from Apple’s iTunes Music Store for viewing on a PC or iPod video player. More established efforts to provide downloadable video include offerings from Movielink, Starz! Ticket on Real Movies, ClickStar and CinemaNow. For example, Movielink, a joint venture of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios, and Warner Bros. Studios, offers movies, television shows, and other popular videos for download on a rental or purchase basis. Some companies are offering or are planning to offer content distribution via the web for independent content producers. DaveTV, Brightcove, and Wi-FiTV provide an Internet-based distribution interface for content producers of all sizes. Some content producers are offering their services directly to Internet users via websites such as Strandvenice.com, which is an online reality channel that offers a 50-minute series pilot episode for free and charges 99 cents for future 30-minute episodes. Akimbo has partnered with producers and distributors of movies and videos to deliver video programming directly to a subscriber’s television using the consumer’s existing broadband connection. Akimbo provides the subscriber a set-top box that generates an on-screen guide that enables the subscriber to choose programming from a library of video selections. Akimbo then uses IP technology to deliver the video from a central office, over the Internet, to the subscriber’s television."