The
question of 'Net neutrality'
The question
of “Net neutrality” is being taken up by Congress, with
both WGA-West president Patric Verrone and actress Justine Bateman appearing
before the Senate Commerce Committee yesterday. According to Variety,
the two “described the Internet as the only remaining open market
for truly independent creators” and “emphasized the need
for Net neutrality,” meaning that online service providers should
continue to grant unlimited access for customers to all legal areas
of the web. The major conglomerates that make up the Motion Picture
Association of America, on the other hand, are against mandatory “Net
neutrality,” claiming service providers should be able to block
“pirated” content. Bateman argued that a major studio could
potentially contract with a service provider and block websites it deems
as competitors, especially independents who do not have the financial
and political clout of the majors.
“I
started working in the entertainment industry 22 years ago,” Verrone
meanwhile stated. “Almost 30 separate companies independently
produced and distributed television on the ‘new media’ of
cable TV. Today we are down to about seven vertically integrated conglomerates,
controlling not only cable TV, but also broadcast, film and even news.”
Most analysts agree that it was the repealing of the Fin-Syn Rules in
the 1980s that caused the demise of independents, as it allowed the
networks to produce their own content for airing while already controlling
distribution. “The axiom in Hollywood is that content is king,
but those who control access to the king, control the kingdom,”
Verrone went on to say. “Because of federal regulations—or
lack thereof—that control is in the hands of neither the consumer
nor the content creators, but the distributors.”
NewTeeVee.com,
ironically enough, is reporting statistics released by both Nielsen
and Om. First, according to March’s VideoCensus numbers from Nielsen,
unique online video viewers in the U.S. slightly dipped to 115.4 million
when compared to February (115.8) and January (116.7), while total video
streams increased to 6.968 billion compared to the previous two months
(6.333 and 5.987). Om,
meanwhile, using data from Arbor Networks, concluded that 40 percent
of the online traffic generated by broadband users comes from audio
and video streaming on services like YouTube. One could argue that with
online viewing finally achieving a significant beachhead, the media
conglomerates are ready to extend their control onto the World Wide
Web. Which, as history has shown, is not such a good thing for the creative
individuals of any world.
—Anthony
Letizia (April 23, 2008)
