Dems: Save and Deploy With 'Dig Once' Broadband

Several House Democrats have signed a letter asking the GAO for a cost-benefit analysis of a 'dig once' policy that would require installing housing for fiber-optic wires during highway construction projects. Dubbed the Broadband Conduit Deployment Act, the bill would require the installation of broadband conduit while federal highways are being built.

Introduced by Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and co-sponsored by Ed Markey (D-MA) and two other California Democrats, the bill is in response to FCC data that says the largest cost of deploying fiber-based broadband networks is not the fiber itself but the cost of placement (read: burying lines in the ground). The FCC estimates that threading fiber cables through existing conduit is 3 to 4 times cheaper than building new infrastructure.

"Given the scale of the federal government's funding of highway construction, we believe the installation of conduit in these projects could greatly facilitate the deployment of broadband networks," the letter says. •

MediaCensus RealNumbers: Football Nets! – Who & How Much?

Ten hut!  The boys of autumn (and summer and winter with a short spring/early summer hiatus of games but not news) are back!  The lockout became officially unlocked earlier this week and everyone involved can now go back to making piles of money ... while fans return to couch-potato-hood.  

For this week's RealNumbers, we're taking a look at some of the specialty channels that the NFL has tacked onto its roster will an eye to boosting the bullion.  Namely, the NFL Network and the NFL RedZone, which is produced by the NFL Network.  

The NFL packages games for broadcast helping make $$$s for the teams (and itself, one big enterprise).  Back for bidding this year is the package of 8 Thursday night games ... now on the NFL Network itself (last round, Comcast's Versus passed).  The Network runs a 24/7 schedule including reruns, highlights, talking heads etc.  The RedZone, meanwhile, is a Sunday afternoon special featuring the hottest of the hot play across all games underway.  

So now that the NFL is back in play, who's got these nifty football fanatic offerings on their lineup?  The NFL Network is carried by nine of the top 12 terrestrial (ie non-DBS) MVPDs reaching a potential audience of nearly 36.5M households.  The NFL RedZone is carried by DIRECTV as part of its NFL Sunday Ticket package; in addition it's carried by seven of the top 12 terrestrial providers who offer it to a potential audience of just over 31M.  

Of course, not all carriage is equal and some providers carry one, or both, of these network on virtually all their systems; some limit carriage to a mere fraction.  Our chart here, drawn from our MediaCensus data, gives a good idea of who's banking on the NFL channels ... and how heavily.  For a complimentary report on NFL Network carriage for the top 14 MVPDs, please send a note to info@mediabiz.com.•

Spectrum Tied to Debt Talk? - Franken Opposes AT&T-Mobile - ACA & Kaitz Honorees

Gov't: Spectrum auctions continue to spin through the deficit debacle in D.C. Stifel Nicolaus analyst Rebecca Arbogast sees "a good chance of (auctions) passing ... in some form" although what form (as with the rest of D.C.) remains unknown. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), however, sees a potential $15B from the auctions. --- Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) came out against AT&T's $39B acquisition of T-Mobile saying, "The competitive effects of a merger of this size and scope will reverberate throughout the telecommunications sector for decades to come and will affect consumer prices, customer service, innovation, competition in handsets, and the quality and quantity of network coverage."

Deals: On the heels of their domestic deal, CBS and Netflix unveiled a 2-year, non-exclusive, undisclosed international licensing agreement enabling Netflix subs to stream CBS content in Canada and Latin America. --- Verizon is teaming with booster manufacturer Wilson Electronics to propose federal standards for boosters that help overcome weak cell signals.

Programming: Comcast is expanding the carriage of 8 Hispanic nets (Azteca America, Galavision, HITN, LATV, -mun2, Telefutura, Telemundo and Univision) by about 14M total subs. --- The Parents Television Council sent letters to every NBC affiliate asking them not to air The Playboy Club, a new drama series set in Chicago's famous Playboy Club in the 1960s.

Footprints: Wireless broadband provider Skyriver Communications expanded its SoCal footprint to include Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, West LA, Orange, Garden Grove, Tustin, Santa Ana and Westminster.

Online: Interwebs telephony company Vonage says subscribers can now extend calling plans to any phone - including mobiles - with a new free extension plan. --- Gannett says it will expand its daily deals service DealChicken in more than 50 cities by the end of year.

Distribution: AT&T's U-verse and Blue Ridge Communications agreed to offer Starz's 3D VOD package.

SkyREPORT: In its latest analysis of FSS ops, Euroconsult says that 2010 was an "important year" for FSS in terms of strategic investments as 17 operators invested in Ka-band with 6 launching Ka-band capacity. The report says 90% of active FSS ops saw FY10 revenue growth with the help of DTH, cellular backhaul and enterprise networks.

Retail: The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) said both of its measures on consumer confidence - overall consumer expectations and consumer expectations in technology - dropped in July.

2011 Independent Show: HDNet/Dallas Mavericks maverick Mark Cuban told attendees he "feel[s] the same pain" as other independent companies and slammed big media for packaging nets into deals that make it hard for smaller operators to compete. "It's not right that you have to carry networks that nobody watches," he said.

Accolades: The ACA honored several members with service awards in SF this week. Congrats to the following: Wave Broadband COO Steve Friedman (ACA Chairman's Award), Cable ONE CEO Tom Might and Kuhn Communications Pres. Earl Kuhn (ACA PAC Individual Leadership Award), Wave Broadband (PAC Leadership Award), former Sunflower Broadband COO Patrick Knorr (ACA Board Service Award) and longtime ACA and NCTC board member Doug Fuller (ACA Board Emeritus Recognition). --- The Walter Kaitz Foundation will honor One Economy Co-Founder/Chair Rey Ramsey with its 2011 Diversity Advocate Award and Time Warner Cable as the 2011 Diversity Champion Award at this year's fundraising dinner in Oct.

Stay tuned to the day's market news with The Evening BRIDGE •