December 2013 4 World E. Kelley offered a videotaped acceptance speech. During his speech, Diller (pictured) commented that even though broadcasters were honoring him, “many people in this room are suing me,” in reference to his new digital platform, Aereo, which picks up digital broadcast TV signals for a streaming service. Broadcasters claim Aereo is infringing on their copyrights by not compensating them for their signals. Also honored was the 197477 FCC (U.S. communications authority) chairman Richard E. Wiley, who distinguished himself for advancing a deregulatory agenda that in the late ’90s resulted in the demise of small companies, solidification of vertical integration and led to the age of conglomerates in the entertainment business. Afinalobservation:TheLibrary of American Broadcasting, which was established in 1974 by the Washington, D.C.- based National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and until 1994 was housed at the NAB headquarters, has so far mostly honored executives and personalities involved with U.S. domestic broadcasting. Among the more than 120 inductees, only six current and/ or past executives distinguished themselves for having contributed to the success of Americanentertainment abroad. Malaysia’s Pay-TV Gets Heated ABNxcess, Malaysia’s only cable operator, is preparing to enter the pay-TV market in a big way, competing with Astro — which dominates the pay-TV market with more than three million subscribers out of the 6.7 million TVHH in the country — and Telecom Malaysia’s IPTV service, HyppTV. Malaysia’s Asian Broadcasting Network launched the 50-channel high-speed Internet service ABNxcess last July and now it is trying to bring the monthly subscription price below RM 30 (U.S.$9) from the current RM 99, because research has shown that at that lower price, penetration would go up to 75 percent from the current 50. In mid-October, the Library of American Broadcasting, which is based on the campus of the University of Maryland, staged its 11th annual “Giants of Broadcasting” awards. This year, it was held in the big rotunda of Gotham Hall in New York City, having outgrown its previous locale at the city’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel. As usual, 11 executives were honored, including ABC-Disney’s Anne Sweeney, Aereo’s Barry Diller, writer-producer David E. Kelley and BET’s founder Robert L. Johnson. All 2013 inductees are or were prominent in the U.S. domestic TV market, with the exception of Jeff Smulyan, founder of Emmis Broadcasting, owner of 21 radio stations in key U.S. cities. Smulyan is known in the radio broadcasting business for promoting the FM chip into mobile phones and getting them activated (some phones have FM chips, but they are not activated); a plan opposed by the Consumer Electronics Association. With an FM chip, local stations would be available as long as the phone is on. At the award ceremony, Anne Sweeney sent TV star Robin Roberts to accept the award on her behalf, and David U.S. TV Giants Are Recognized
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI4OTA5