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Today's Top Stories
1. ITC refuses Verizon's appeal in Cablevision patent infringement case
2. Charter jumps on HBO's TV Everywhere service bandwagon
3. Hulu saga continues as Apple considers bid for online video service
4. Comcast Media Center markets HITS to independent operators
5. Clearwire, Time Warner Cable, Sprint Nextel expand WiMAX in New York City Editor's Corner:  Subsidized tablets could boost MSOs struggling in the wireless market Also Noted: OTT Delivery
Spotlight On... CNN says its mobile apps downloads reach 10M mark
Comcast, NBCU pick media strategy agencies; FCC commissioner wants movement on ownership rules review and much more... News From the Fierce Network:
1. Vermont's utilities, telcos establish smart grid partnership
2. GSA: Operators launch 39 HSPA+ 42 networks worldwide
3. Netflix expected to announce monster earnings, revenue for Q2
More headlines...
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Subsidized tablets could boost MSOs struggling in the wireless market
I'm a wireless reporter by trade, and I've been watching the cable industry's starts and stalls in the wireless market for some time. My conclusion, which isn't that profound, is that cable providers talk a great deal about the value of wireless but struggle to make any sort of dent in the market or capitalize on offering wireless services as part of a bundle. Back in 2008, it was clear that cable operators were anxious to grab a piece of the fast-growing wireless pie, but the trend today among MSOs seems to be one of spending very little money while continuing to experiment with service offerings and pricing strategies. Most recently, Cox Communications decommissioned its 3G network infrastructure to continue using Sprint Nextel's (NYSE: S) CDMA network for its wireless service. "In continuing with our successful wholesale model for 3G wireless services, we will accomplish speed to market while achieving greater operational efficiencies from a wholesale model that continues to improve," Cox spokesman David Deliman told sister publication FierceWireless back in May. Cox had originally planned to build its own 3G network using 1xEVDO Rev. A technology--and use the wireless spectrum it acquired by bidding in the 700 MHz spectrum auction and the AWS spectrum auction (in the AWS spectrum auction it bid as part of the SpectrumCo joint venture). Its network rollout experienced a number of delays. ...Continue reading this Editor's Corner online Read more about: Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Wireless Spectrum, Clearwire
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Today's Top News 1. ITC refuses Verizon's appeal in Cablevision patent infringement case
Verizon (NYSE: VZ) was dealt another blow by the U.S. International Trade Commission yesterday when it declined to review an administrative law judge's conclusion that Cablevision Systems (NYSE: CVC) did not infringe on four of Verizon's patents related to set-top boxes. Back in May, an ITC judge dismissed four of Verizon's patent claims against Cablevision but declared that the fifth one did infringe. The ITC upheld the decision about the fifth claim but a federal court has invalidated that patent in a separate patent infringement lawsuit. "Having examined the record in this investigation, including the ALJ's [administrative law judge's] final ID [initial determination], the petitions for review, and the responses thereto, the Commission has determined not to review the final ID," the ITC commissioners wrote. Cablevision said in a statement that the "ruling is a significant win for Cablevision." Verizon's legal action began in March 2010 when it filed the complaint with the ITC and sued Cablevision in a Delaware federal court. It accused Cablevision of infringing on several patents pertaining to digital set-top boxes and wanted a ruling to stop Cablevision from distributing the boxes. In its ITC complaint, Verizon claimed three Cablevision set-top boxes--the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 4250HD, the SA Explorer 8300HD and the SA Explorer 4200HD--violated five of the telco's patents. Interestingly, Verizon has reached intellectual-property cross-licensing agreements with operators including Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) and Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR). For more:
- see this Multichannel News article Related articles:
Cablevision wins round in battle with Verizon
Verizon sues Cablevision over set-top box patents
ITC to investigate Verizon's patent claims on Cablevision imports
Court invalidates Verizon's patent counterclaims against ActiveVideo, Cablevision Read more about: Cablevision Systems, Set Top Boxes, Verizon, Patent Infringement
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2. Charter jumps on HBO's TV Everywhere service bandwagon
3. Hulu saga continues as Apple considers bid for online video service
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is mulling a bid for online video provider Hulu, reports Bloomberg, which cited two people with knowledge of the auction. The news comes a day after Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) reportedly bowed out of the bidding. Apple, with $76.2 billion in cash and securities on its books, is the world's second-most-valuable company. Owning Hulu would provide Apple with a viable challenger to Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), something its Apple TV product has not yet been able to do. "Part of the ecosystem of Apple's future is to include more video," Scott Sutherland, Wedbush Securities Inc. analyst told Bloomberg. "It's something they are focused on. Earlier this week Hulu's media-company owners sweetened the offer by offering the buyer guaranteed access to programs from Hulu owners Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), News Corp. (Nasdaq: NWSA) and Comcast's (Nasdaq: CMCSA) NBCUniversal for five years, including two years of exclusive access.< /p> Hulu's price tag could exceed $2 billion, and Apple historically hasn't made acquisitions that large, Sutherland noted. However, Apple has been looking at buying up mobile patents, agreeing to pay $2.6 billion as part of a consortium that purchased patents from bankrupt Nortel Networks. For more:
- see this Bloomberg article Related articles:
Microsoft reportedly pulls out of running for Hulu
Report: Hulu offers potential buyers guaranteed access to programming for 5 years
Hulu adds subs, makes money, struggles to find the right buyer
Report: Netflix not interested in buying Hulu
Disney CEO confirms owners 'committed to selling' Hulu
Hulu on the auction block? An Apple-branded TV in the fall? And an iPad in every box? Ah, rumors Read more about: Acquisition, Hulu, News Corp, Apple
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4. Comcast Media Center markets HITS to independent operators
Comcast Media Center is marketing the HITS Express Lane content management service to independent operators as an avenue to push locally produced video-on-demand content without having to invest in a headend-based solution. Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is pitching the service as an ideal complement for smaller operators in remote markets since they can add local content and only pay for the content they use. the Express Lane service is Web based and includes encoding, metadata creation, quality control and storage. HITS Vice President and General Manager Leslie Russell said that local content provides smaller cable operators with a competitive advantage over their satellite TV counterparts. "Express Lane is a cost-effective way for cable systems to offer digital video customers more local programming without using linear channel capacity or investing in plant upgrades typically required for offering local VOD content," Russell said in a statement. For more:
- see this Multichannel News article Related articles:
NCTC extends HITS agreement with Comcast Media Center
Comcast Media Center takes headend into the skies (again) Read more about: Comcast, Vod, Satellite Tv, HITS
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5. Clearwire, Time Warner Cable, Sprint Nextel expand WiMAX in New York City
Clearwire (Nasdaq: CLWR) and its wholesale partners/owners Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) and Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) announced what they call a significant expansion of Clearwire's WiMAX network footprint and capacity upgrades for mobile broadband customers in the greater New York City metro area. An additional 91,363 people are now covered by the WiMAX service, bringing the service area to coverage of nearly 12 million people. Enhanced capacity and expanded coverage can be experienced in the following communities: Alpine, Bayonne, Elizabeth, Fair Lawn, Newark, Paramus, Secaucus, Union, N.J.; and Hartsdale, New Rochelle, New York, Rockville Centre, and Yonkers, N.Y. Time Warner Cable offers a number of rebranded Mobile WiMAX options with plans starting at $20 a month for 250MB, $40 for unlimited WiMAX service, or $60 for nationwide data access on both Clearwire's WiMAX network and Sprint's 3G CDMA network. For more:
- see this release
- read this DSL Reports post Related articles:
Cable TV execs have agreed they must have a wireless future
Wireless lurks behind the dust cloud that cable stirred up
Sprint reduces Clearwire voting control Read more about: Time Warner Cable, Clearwire, Broadband Customers, Wimax
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Also Noted
SPOTLIGHT ON... CNN says its mobile apps downloads reach 10M mark CNN revealed that its mobile apps--which span a number of devices including the iPhone, iPad and Android phones--have been downloaded 10 million times. The most popular app is CNN for iPhone, which was debuted in September 2009. On Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) devices, CNN apps are ranked first and third when it comes to news apps on the iPhone. It's No. 1 on the iPad. Article Cable industry news from across the Web: @FierceCable RT @InformationWeek: Begun the tablet clone wars have. Here's 4 questions to consider before pledging your loyalty. Story | Follow @FierceCable > The FCC has granted the assignment of license of KTKA-TV Topeka, Kan., from Free State Communications to PBC Broadcasting and rejected a petition to deny the deal, saying it's in the public interest and that the applicants are fully qualified to hold their licenses. Article > Comcast and NBCUniversal have selected Publicis Group's SMG and Maxus, a unit of WPP's GroupM, as their media strategy and planning agencies. Article > According to Multichannel News' FCC sources, chairman Julius Genachowski has granted a 10-day extension to Republican commissioner Robert McDowell to cast his vote on the agency's program carriage order and NPRM. Article > FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell pushed the agency to reconstitute its diversity advisory committee, and get moving on its review of media ownership rules. Article And finally... Naked sunbathers once crowded Germany's Baltic beaches and city parks, but their numbers are dwindling due to a number of factors, including chubbier Germans. Article News From the Fierce Network:
> Polycom 2Q earnings double on strong growth in emerging markets Post
> FBI arrests do little to quiet Anonymous Post
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