Jan
8
Written by:
1/8/2010 6:04 AM
The first week of the new year’s been a doozey,
starting with a cage match between Time Warner and Fox over retransmission fees.
They settled on New Year’s Day after a holiday greeting from Sen. John Kerry
(D-Mass.). Sinclair and Mediacom also made nice for another year. The first
ever trial activation of the national presidential alert system was conducted
in Alaska. It worked but for a few glitches, though some informed observers
noted that if there is actually ever a need for a presidential alert, no one
would be around to hear it.
“Avatar,” in the meantime, broke the $1 billion mark at the box office. James
Cameron’s 3D sci-fi epic movie segued nicely into the Consumer Electronics
Show, where even Vizio, the Wal-Mart of TV makers, announced a new line of
3D-capable TV sets. Samsung, Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony and JVC did likewise.
DirecTV, Discovery and ESPN revealed plans to launch 3DTV networks. This is
clearly the year 3D video breaks fully into the mainstream market.
The timing of CES assures an avalanche of tech news during the first week of
the year, although Google unveiled its Nexus One on its home turf in Mountain
View, Calif. The first Google phone runs on the Google operating system and
will eventually transmit on Google’s free spectrum courtesy of the Federal
Communications Commission.
It’s good to be Google.
FLO TV meanwhile got into the iPhone while Samsung introduced a handset with
mobile DTV reception, and LG said it had one on the way along with a likewise
equipped portable DVD player.
Automaker Ford demonstrated a dashboard touch-screen for smartphone app
interaction.
In Washington, D.C., meanwhile, two veteran Democratic senators announced their
retirement. Sens. Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota
said they wouldn’t see re-election this year.
Across town, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission asked for
another month to complete a National Broadband Plan before presenting it to
Congress.
Broadcast stocks began to rebound after Sinclair revises its fourth-quarter
guidance upward, and NBC appeared to be ending its Jay Leno experiment in prime
time.
Congress reconvenes in Week No. 2 of the New Year. Let the games continue...