As the House Votes on Net Neutrality, A Case Study of a Non-Neutral Net/Verizon-Disney’s Broadband Deal Illustrates Power of Telco Powerhouses
When Verizon and Disney signed a “long-term programming agreement” in 2005, it illustrated why the Congress should enact net neutrality safeguards. Disney sought to secure the broadband gate keeping power that Verizon (and only a few others) have over both digital TV and Internet distribution. Under the deal, Verizon agreed to distribute (via its FIOS service) a dozen channels on the preferential expanded basic tier. They included: ABC Family, ABC News Now, Disney Channel, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, Ton Disney and SOAP net. Disney also gained favorable distribution for its Spanish language content and its video-on-demand library,
But more importantly, Verizon agreed to bless a Disney owned “broadband product portfolio” including “ABC News Now, Disney Connection, ESPN360, Movies.com and a newly launched broadband soap opera product.” This will likely give Disney content the fast-lane service (including better promotion) that Verizon, AT&T and cable want to impose for the online medium. In addition, in an example of how a Verizon can police the Internet for its favored customers, the agreement included a promise by the phone giant to identify subscribers who are infringing on Disney’s “copyrighted works.” Verizon agreed to “forward and track notices to its subscribers allegedly engaged in the unauthorized distribution of Disney’s copyrighted works, without identifying the subscribers to Disney, and either provide subscriber identifying information pursuant to lawfully served subpoenas or terminate Verizon Internet service provided to subscribers who have infringed Disney copyrights and received multiple notices.”
Without network neutrality, every content provider will have to try and negotiate some deal with a Verizon or Comcast. The Internet should operate without gate keepers and online snoops. Let’s not let them turn the Net into Mickey Mouse. Congress must stand up to the special phone and cable interests
June 8th, 2006 at 3:01 pm
[…] Amongst the speakers Howard Rheingold and Paul Saffo put the politics back in the mix for which I was grateful. The whole issue of network neutrality was bubbling under the two day event and it looks set to become something of daily concern. Amy Goodman was a revelation to me and a breath of fresh US air as we don’t get Democracy Now in the UK. Ethan Zuckerman (sharing a platform with Dan Gillmor and Hong Euan Tek) when asked in their session about citizens media by some bright spark whether Editors were still relevant. managed to summarise in one nifty line ” Don’t speak. Point!” everything the WE MEDIA conference didn’t manage to say in two days. “Point to People and get out of the way!” the old days of advocay as speaking on “behalf of people” are so over. The way I see the role of the Mainstream Media in the debate about user-generated content and the blogosphere is to be a decent facilitator or moderator. It’s hard for an editor to change herself/himeself into a facilitator the skills come from different mindsets …but some are having a go. We talk about this a lot at the BBC where I work and now it’s time for the walk. […]
July 13th, 2006 at 9:07 am
[…] But both Verizon and Disney aren’t being honest. They know well that absent network neutrality, a private system for broadband distribution is evolving in the U.S. Powerful gatekeepers are emerging for broadband—just as we’ve had with broadcast and cable TV. Deals are being struck which give a privileged few—such as what was done between Verizon and Disney last year—real access to audiences. Everyone else will be a second-class digital citizen, at best. […]