NAB speakers urge broadcasters to keep pace with technology

Kevin Rademacher

Tuesday, April 19, 2005 | 10:56 a.m.

At the opening ceremony of the National Association of Broadcasters convention, the keynote speech was given by someone who admittedly has nothing to do with broadcasting -- at least not on the surface.

It didn't take long, however, for Ivan Seidenberg, chief executive of Verizon Communications, to carve out his place in the broadcast world.

"A new generation of technologies and a new generation of consumers have thrown all our tidy definitions and old ideas into a giant mixmaster to turn America into a broadband nation," he said Monday at the NAB convention in Las Vegas.

To that end, he said consumers want their information -- whether it be telephone calls, radio broadcasts or television programming -- regardless of where they are and "on whatever device they happen to have in hand," Seidenberg said.

In an effort to deliver that content, Verizon announced that it is launching an effort -- FiSO -- to connect fiber all the way to homes and businesses. That would mean forgoing the now-standard practice of linking fiber connections to copper wire systems that then connect to home, dragging down the performance of the system.

Such a new network would ultimately allow Verizon to provide a series of new services.

"After many years of predictions and a couple false starts along the way, these new broadband networks are launching us -- once and for all -- into the world of television and entertainment," Seidenberg said.

The company also announced plans to roll out its V-CAST product, which delivers content from its entertainment partners over its wireless phones and multimedia devices. The programming includes 3-D games, music videos, movie previews, sports highlights and television programming episodes.

"We're convinced that, once consumers get a taste of this new wireless experience, they will see it as every bit as indispensable as their mobile phone service is today," he said.

In his own comments during the opening presentation, NAB Chief Executive Eddie Fritts cautioned broadcasters to find a way to participate in the technological revolution.

"If you would allow me, I want to offer a little tough love here," Fritts said. "NAB can prevent, and has prevented, many bad things from happening to you in Washington. But we cannot stop the inevitable advance of technology, nor do you want us to."

As evidence of the changing landscape in the broadcast industry, the exhibit floor was populated by the likes of Apple Computer Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

Frank Giaimo, vice president for strategic business development of Hewlett-Packard Co., was taking advantage of the NAB audience to announce a series of partnerships with broadcasters and entertainment companies.

HP and Infinity Broadcasting said Monday that they will partner with Nokia to deliver visual radio to consumers. The plan is to launch a system that would allow broadcasters to transmit signals including graphics, advertising material, concert ticket sales and other information along with music feeds.

"Terrestrial broadcasters are competing with satellite radio broadcasters," Giaimo said. "This is an opportunity for broadcasters to enjoy a new business model and new form of distribution."

Like Seidenberg, Giaimo said that 10 years ago his presence at a broadcasters convention would have seemed unlikely.

"Everything is transforming," he said, adding that HP also is working with motion picture and television studios to create digital content.

That effort would allow studios to create products embedded with copyright protection and distribute it over a series of devices and formats.

"The message is readied for distribution, whether it's through cable providers, satellite, broadband or mobile," Giaimo said. "It's all digital."

He added that the presence of technology companies has furthered the ability of the broadcast industry to evolve.

"The pace of change is really accelerating," Giaimo said. "(Technology) companies, we are comfortable with that pace."

On holdup, however, has been the ability of regulations and laws to keep pace. Speaking in the days before the NAB convention, Lamar Marchese, general manager for Nevada Public Radio, said the station was having trouble keeping up with customer demands for "podcasting."

Listeners, he said, want to be able to download programs to their personal devices -- such as iPods -- and play it at a time that fits their schedule. The problem, Marchese said, is that copyright laws do not cover such broadcasts. He said while a program the Las Vegas company produces is free for such a broadcast, it is unclear if the current agreements cover that use.

He also said that content the Nevada company distributes from National Public Radio cannot be disseminated locally because the national company has a distribution agreement with a third party.

"The technology forges on, but the regulations don't," Marchese said.

Giaimo agreed that such definitions need to be cleared up.

"Regulations continue to evolve," he said. "It's a bit of a tightrope everyone walks right now."