Peter Shields of Wiley, Rein & Fielding begins term as FCBA pres. July 1… Linda Shatz is to leave U.S. Administrative Co., which administers e-rate fund, effective June 30… William Schwartz, ex-Washington Post, named Metrocall vp-retail operations.
LAS VEGAS -- Broadcasters should “just completely ignore” Hollywood in fight over digital rights management, HDNet Chmn. Mark Cuban said at NAB convention here. He said Hollywood program producers had “created a chicken little environment” with claims that DTV would be pirated, including via transmission over Internet. Other speakers here said DTV transition was going much better than most believed, topping speed of transition to such technologies as VCRs and color TV sets.
LAS VEGAS -- Three principal speakers at opening session of NAB convention here Mon. all made pitches for unified front to overcome future challenges, with NAB Pres. Edward Fritts issuing direct call to NBC, CBS and Fox to rejoin Assn. “Broadcasters can move mountains in the legislative and regulatory arena when we are unified,” he said. Conceding divisive 35% ownership cap issue (which caused 3 TV networks to pull out of NAB more than year ago) is “vitally important,” he said there was “panoply of other challenges we face” where broadcasters were united. Keynoter Richard Parsons, CEO-designate of AOL Time Warner, said only by cable and TV industries’ “working together can we take a leadership role in shaping a great new age of television.” Richard Wiley, winner of NAB Distinguished Service Award, said meeting new competitive pressures required “substantial industry ingenuity and also unity.”
FCC Chmn. Powell offered his own plan to spur national DTV transition Thurs., telling Sen. Hollings (D-S.C.) and Rep. Tauzin (R-La.) in letters that he would seek commitments from cable operators, broadcasters, satellite providers, equipment manufacturers and retailers for his voluntary, 5- part proposal. Powell said his plan wasn’t intended to be comprehensive or to resolve many of weighty issues, such as copyright protection and equipment compatibility, hampering transition. “Rather, it is intended to provide an immediate spur to the transition by giving consumers a reason to invest in digital technology today, while we continue to work on resolving the longer-term issues,” Powell wrote. One of major obstacles to DTV transition is lack of digital programming and low demand from consumers, many of whom find HDTV sets too costly. Aides to Hollings and Tauzin confirmed their offices had received and were reviewing Powell letter. Both lawmakers were traveling during congressional recess and couldn’t be reached for comment, staffers said. Letters were made public as many TV officials were leaving for NAB convention in Las Vegas.
Requests for extensions of May 2002 deadline for DTV buildout from TV stations in markets 31 and above (CD March 6 p12) had topped out at 572 by 4 p.m. Wed. Commission had promised applications would be acted on “rapidly,” and some already have been approved, FCC official told us. Of extension requests filed by Mon. deadline, about 70 were submitted by one law firm -- Wiley, Rein & Fielding.
Tomas Bridle, chief technology officer and senior policy adviser to Rep. Harman (D-Cal.), named program dir., National Democratic Institute in Moscow… NTCA board elections: Pres. John Metts, Penasco Valley Telephone Co-op; Vp Norman Welker, McDonough Telephone Co-op; Secy.-Treas. Tom Rowland, N. Central Telephone Co-op… Alan Morse, ex-TelePacific Communications, named COO, Horizon PCS… Joseph Licata promoted to pres., Siemens Enterprise Networks, U.S… NAB will give Distinguished Service Award to attorney Richard Wiley at convention in Las Vegas.
Donald Ohlmeyer, recently retired exec. producer of ABC’s Mon. Night Football and former NBC west coast pres., will keynote April 5-7 Bcst. Education Assn. (BEA) convention in Las Vegas. BEA also plans panels on Internet, digital conversion, eroding TV audience, “Law & Policy” updating what’s happened since passage of 1996 Telecom Act, “Hot Topics” in broadcast regulation with panelists to include Washington attorneys Barry Umansky and Richard Wiley and Catherine Bohegian, legal asst. to FCC Comr. Martin. For first time, NAB Educational Foundation is underwriting cost to take 5 faculty members from minority colleges to BEA -- Louisa Nielsen, 202-429-5355 or lnielsen@nab.org.
Although he signed FCC filing on Transportation Dept.- funded research on ultra-wideband, Stanford U. Prof. Bradford Parkinson said he wasn’t involved in conducting study, meaning his corporate ties to GPS developer Trimble posed no conflict. In Sept. 2000, Parkinson, who is widely viewed as “Father of GPS,” jointly submitted to FCC ex parte filing with other Stanford researchers outlining preliminary results of UWB tests conducted by GPS Research Lab at Stanford and funded by DoT. “We urge the Commission to proceed with great caution and deliberation,” said filing by 4 professors, including Parkinson, that described research challenges of analyzing UWB-to-GPS interference. But Parkinson said Mon. his role in research, which had been among studies cited by federal agencies concerned about potential of UWB emissions to cause harmful interference to GPS, was to evaluate results after test phase was complete. He said Assoc. Prof. Per Enge oversaw research itself.
New partners at Wiley, Rein & Fielding: Timothy Brightbill, Internet and trade; Dorann Bunkin, communications and Internet; Meredith Fuchs, Internet and privacy; Christopher Kelly and David Kulik, intellectual property… Edmond Sanctis, ex-NBC Internet, named pres.-COO, Acclaim Entertainment… Michael Thurk, ex-Ericsson Datacom, joins Avaya as group vp-systems… Tom Rutledge, ex-Time Warner Cable, appointed pres.-N.Y. Metro Area, Cablevision Systems… Motorola COO Edward Breen elected to board… Consultant David Kenin named Hallmark Channel exec. vp- programming… William Payer promoted to CONUS gen. mgr…. David Beckwith resigns as NCTA vp-communications following appointment of Rob Stoddard as senior vp-communications and public affairs… Philip Smith, former Moai Technologies CFO, joins RHK Inc. in same position… Dara Khosrowshahi promoted to CFO, USA Networks, replacing Michael Sileck, appointed CFO, TMP Worldwide… Ex-journalist Kate Gerwig becomes principal analyst, Current Analysis.
FCC Deputy Gen. Counsel John Rogovin told Practising Law Institute conference in Washington that agency was “seriously hopeful” that Congress would pass legislation implementing NextWave agreement by year-end. But in response to question by panel moderator Richard Wiley, he declined to place odds on Congress’s acting in time to meet condition of settlement agreement that legislation be approved by Dec. 31. He said that beyond that date, “there can be no guarantee we will hold that coalition together. It was pretty fragile.” Under scenario in which request for certiorari before U.S. Supreme Court would move forward next year, even with ultimate ruling favorable to FCC, certainty on disposition of licenses still might not be assured until 2004, he said, citing court scheduling issues.