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During a January 8th Panel Discussion at the Consumer electronics show FCC Chairman Kevin Martin unequivocally said his agency would be investigating allegations Comcast inappropriately interfered with peer to peer data traffic moving across their network.  That investigation, looking into issues relating to Net Neutrality Policy, is now official.

Comcast confirmed Monday they had received official letters of inquiry regarding the complaints.

The complaints stem from the Associated Press’ discovery in October that Comcast was either blocking, or intentionally slowing down (a practice called “throttling”), Internet traffic generated by the Bit Torrent peer to peer software used by some Comcast subscribers. Click to Read More

Following Warner Brother’s surprise announcement to back the rival Blu-Ray standard, the HD DVD camp canceled parts of their planned CES promotions and made a measured statement that they would “evaluate potential steps.”  Wasting no time, it appear’s they’ve made a decision: the next generation DVD format war will now be a price war. 

Beaten and battered by the decision of five of seven major Hollywood studios to bake their rival, Toshiba is striking back with price cuts and a planned marketing blitz. Toshiba said Monday that they will dramatically cut prices on their HD DVD lineup.  The last expensive player, the HD-A3, will drop from $299 to $149.  The high end unit in the product line will drop from $499 to $299.

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Preempting a largely expected iTunes movie rental announcement at tomorrow’s Macworld event, Netflix announced they’ll remove all usage quota restrictions on their “Watch Instantly” streaming video service.  The change is to become effective today.

The streaming video service, on which Netflix has reportedly invested more than $40m, has been available for much of the past year.  It allows existing Netflix subscribers to watch on-demand feeds of up to 6,000 titles.  There are no additional costs to use the service.  It is offered in addition to subscriber’s existing mail order rental allotments.

Until today, the one major restriction on the service had been the quota system Click to Read More

2007 was a banner year.  There was the iPhone, a new (and very successful) iPod family, a new and improved  iMac, the Leopard update to the OS X operating system and a stock price that’s accelerated like a Ferrari on a track.  Now it’s 2008 and Macworld, the trade show that is “Apple’s State of the Union” is just a blink away.  Last year’s show revealed the iPhone.  “What can we expect this year?” is the question on the minds of many.  We all want to know: what promise and surprise does the 2008 product pipeline have in store for us? 

Nobody’s talking, which is usual, and as usual, that has everyone talking.  Steve Jobs and his team guard their secrets as tightly as a Vegas magic act, and like the elite illusionists, they enjoy misdirection just as much.     That’s fueled a constant stream of predictions and forecasts.  Analysts with inside sources, press and fans alike all have a perspective.  Handicapping Apple product announcements is rarely a wise endeavor, nevertheless, below are some rumors, and odds of their likelihood:

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Something was missing. When Sony BMG revealed Platinum Music Pass, their first step into DRM-Free waters, it didn’t make sense.  It wasn’t the Amazon partnership expected.  It was a weird retail experiment.  Logic seemed lost.  There had to be more.  Fortunately, there is. 

Amazon announced Thursday that the Sony BMG catalog will, in fact, soon be available at the Amazon MP3 store without digital copyright protection.  There hasn’t been confirmation whether the entire catalog will be included or if it will be a more limited “experiment.”  However they proceed, the news is a significant win for Amazon, and for music fans.

Amazon owes significant thanks to EMI.  Though the smallest of the Big 4, Click to Read More

Patience is a virtue, especially in private equity.  Since November 2006, Bain Capital and Thomas Lee Partners have been trying to buy and privatize outdoor advertiser and radio station operator Clear Channel.   The $19.5b leveraged buyout offered was approved by shareholders ($39.20/a share) but it’s been stuck in regulatory limbo. 

Recently, there’s been an increase in speculation the deal was close to falling apart. The skepticism has hurt the stock price. The stock is trading near $35, a significant discount to the $39.20 buyout price. Now there may be a positive shift.

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Ask a politician and they’ll tell you, consistency in policy and staying on point is essential. Stick to the Message.  If you flip flop from pro to con, then con to pro, credibility will disappear.  Without credibility, there’s little trust.  Without trust there’s won’t be a favorable vote.    In retail, similar maxims apply.  There’s the famous “the customer is always right.” There’s also the old “K.I.S.S.” principle: “keep it simple.”  You can confuse your customer with too many changes, or too many choices.  That’s bad marketing.  Better practice is to offer them value, offer them what they ask for; what they want or need.  Do that and they’ll probably purchase your product.  Don’t and the sale is going to be difficult to close.   

Lately, it seems more and more like Sony (especially the gaming division) has gotten off point, or keeps forgetting the message.  Since launching the PS3 gaming platform in November 2006, they’ve made multiple marketing mistakes and repeatedly juggled their lineup and pricing models to adjust.  I can recall at least three changes in the console’s first year on the market.  Now they’re at it again.

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