Online Hotspots: Hulu, Apple TVs & More

Talk about a Hulu sale continues to swirl as the LA Times notes that the board has hired Guggenheim Partners and Morgan Stanley to help with the sale.  Speculation from Bloomberg puts the potential price at 50x earnings, bringing the tab to over $2B.  Meanwhile, Hulu continues to move ahead with news of  a handshake with Fox for continued carriage of Fox hits on the service. (For more on the whys behind the sale, there’s a nice piece in The Hollywood Reporter here.) --- According to Daily Tech, Apple could launch Apple-branded TVs, bundling Apple TV and iTunes within the sets, by the end of this year. --- Google exec chairman Eric Schmidt told a group at the Cannes Lions advertising festival that the online giant aims to buy more digital ad firms as it looks to have “more diversified revenue. --- AT&T is touting its new cloud-based content delivery network claiming “lightning fast” delivery of content such as video and graphic.  No word on how fast that lightning is.•

Beltway Looks at FCC Reform, Incentive Auctions, AT&T/T-Mobile & More

Rep. Henry Waxman doesn’t think much of the Republicans’ plans for reforming the FCC.   Said he (in reference to the legislation’s roots in objections to conditions imposed on the Comcast/NBCU merger) "I am concerned that we are making procedural changes in an attempt to address outcomes with which we don’t agree." --- Microsoft has been singing the praises of white spaces for long-range wireless connections at the FCC. --- According to Politico, a front runner for the FCC seat vacated by Meredith Attwell Baker is former FCCer (under Kevin Martin) Ajit Pai, now a partner at law firm Jenner & Block.  His name was submitted by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.  --- We could see incentive auctions of broadcast TV spectrum by this summer, says TVNewsCheck as language may be inserted in the debt-ceiling bill. --- Cablevision raised an interesting issue in an FCC filing against the AT&T/T-Mobile deal noting a merger would leave only one GSM provider and that one wouldn't be likely to allow 3rd party wholesale access as T-Mobile currently does. --- FCC is soliciting comments on TiVo's application requesting the waiving of 3 CableCARD requirements: must tune NTSC analog channels 1-125; tuning of those analog channels OTA; and certain testing of unidirectional digital signals.•

Etc: Shapiro Wants Your Spectrum; Ergen Closes in on TerreStar; TWC, VIA Detente

Spectrum:  Said CEA honcho Gary Shapiro in his address at CE Week, "We, the people of the United States of America, hold these truths to be self-evident - that great innovators drive America's unsurpassed economic success; that innovation creates jobs, markets and industries where none existed before; and that innovation moves us forward as a nation, pushing us to succeed and strive for a better tomorrow.”  As part of that innovation, Shapiro wants “more spectrum ... for wireless broadband.”

Strategies:  Comcast is looking to capitalize on the Frontier FiOS phase-out with billboards proclaiming "Frontier is pulling the plug on FiOS — Switch to Xfinity.”  Frontier has sent the cable op a cease-and-desist.

In Court: DISH Network's $1.375B bid for TerreStar Networks has received the blessing of a U.S. bankruptcy court judge, putting the DBS company one step closer to acquiring the TerreStar spectrum. --- Time Warner Cable and Viacom have reached a standstill agreement on their dispute over what programming TWC can offer via the iPad at what (if any) price.  The two companies told the federal court that they’re trying to reach an agreement.  Meanwhile, Viacom filed suit against Cablevision over streaming to iPads and other devices.

Piracy:  AT&T, Comcast and Verizon are among a group of ISPs reportedly closing in on an agreement for tougher controls on pirates.  It’s not signed yet, but according to CNET, the deal would give participating ISPs a menu of potential responses to persistent pirates including limiting the pirates web access until they change their ways.

Up, Over & Under There:  Ofcom has sent its report on News Corp's proposed 100% takeover of BSkyB to the UK Culture Ministry, triggering speculation that the deal is nearing its end.  

Wireless:  BIA/Kelsey optimistically predicts US mobile local ad revenues will jump from today's $404M to $2.8B by 2015. --- CenturyLink will use Verizon Wireless for bundling deals.

SkyREPORT:  Inmarsat has a new fixed-line version of its IsatPhone Pro.  The unit can support multiple users.

People:  Rosa Gatti, ESPN SVP-Communications, will receive the Mary Garber Pioneer Award from the Association of Women in Sports Media ... she's the first PR pro to win the award (which has been around since '99) ... and we can say it is probably overdue and she's a whole lot more than just PR ... special lady, special award. --- Anders Johnson has joined EchoStar as president of EchoStar Satellite Services.  He comes to the Charlie Ergen company from SES World Skies. --- No way are we paying the Donald and co-producer Mark Burnett $160M for two more seasons says NBC in response to a report by the New York Post. 

Services:  Charter added long-haul Ethernet, layer 3 VPN to its business services.

Catch up with the markets this afternoon in The Evening BRIDGE.•