All the chatter on the Medicare Part D debable starting to circulate jives with what I heard at work – the law really screws things up.
Categories
Month: January 2006
Categories
Department of Bizarre
Michael Brown indicates that he was against a competent FEMA before he was for it.
Categories
Media and the Money
Some recent articles combined with the tragic standing of the FireFly series had me thinking on money and the media (movies, mainly) lately. When you consider the source of most studio money no longer comes from the theatre box office, it becomes clear that the numbers reported and overhyped every Sunday evening/Monday about the #1 movie for the weekend is a load of hogwash. In all of 2004, theatre revenue totalled $7.4 billion. While not small change, that represented less than 17% of the revenue, with DVD sales along representing over $20 billion, nearly three times the theatre revenue. Theatre revenue may build buzz, but if we really wanted to find the #1 movie someone should give us the breakdown of DVD sales each week.
Which, as it turns out, is extremely difficult to find. After the release of Serenity on DVD, I did some searching to try to assess how the sales had progressed. Since DVD sales aren’t widely reported, I never did find the numbers for the disc. I was disappointed, to say the least, as any future movie opportunities are likely to rely not so much on the $40 million worldwide box office as the actual DVD sales result. If DVD sales were significant, expect another movie.
The real reason I was prompted to write this item was in response to this paragraph in a Slate article, from which I quote the following paragraph:
In October 2005, Google offered to provide a Wi-Fi service that would enable anyone in San Francisco to connect without charge to the Internet. Google would make its profit not from an access charge, but from the ad revenue an entire broadband-wired city would provide. If the experiment proves successful—and Google’s Wi-Fi platform proves stable—nothing will stop the company from rapidly extending this concept to other cities. Reportedly, Google has already lined up unused fiber-optic cable that spans the country. Such a free Wi-Fi network would mean that the Hollywood studios would no longer need to rely on cable operators—or even telephone companies—to have a two-way pipeline into homes. They could directly rent any movie to consumers and bill their credit card (like everything else is billed on the Internet) without paying a cut to cable operators or local televisions stations.
This may be the best experiment to date on my idea of a separation of the underlying network from the services being provided. That said network is both pervasive and free is more than I would have required.
Finally, for those series that can’t quite hack it on prime time but acquire dedicated, loyal followings. Why haven’t any of the studios given a thought to the iTunes TV model? Releasing episodes to a loyal fan base on the order of $2 – $5 each via iTunes may make the micro market possible. If an episode takes $1 million to procude, and $1 million individuals download it at $2 each, you’ve made $1 million. Shows like “Freaks and Geeks”, “FireFly” or “Arrested Development”, may have a home under this kind of model. If only there were some groups courageous enough (with deep enough pockets) to try this out.
Categories
No Complaints Here
I’m a little behind on my NJ news, but Codey signing the smoking ban is a wonderful thing so far as I’m concerned.
Categories
Registered Traveler Programs
I read the article in Slate about a new registered traveler program, but couldn’t figure out what the hubaloo was about. Special express security screening lines already exist at many airports offered by the airlines for their best customers. Anyone who pays the $80/year and submits to the background check will still have to go through X-ray and the metal detector. And if you’re traveling enough to be willing to pay the $80, you would likely have enough accumulated travel and/or clout with the airlines to qualify for their express screening lines. If you don’t, your travel department and/or secretary aren’t doing a good enough job.
Edited to Add: I’ll expound on why I think every registered traveler program is destined to fail, at least as an economic venture. The target market is first limited to frequent travelers. Since most frequent travelers receive expedited screening privileges at the busier airports due to their frequent flyer programs, the reduction of wait time for your primary screening from 30 minutes down to 3 already applies in the most important cases. By receiving the benefit for free, there’s an instant reduction in the size of the target market. You can’t eliminate the primary screening for anyone without opening a gigantic hole in the screening process that makes the whole operation worthless.
So who would still be interested? Those on the do-not-fly list or are regular recipients of the dreaded psuedorandom secondary screening. These would be the travelers who most often have to be wanded down and have their luggage searched, either because their name appears on one of the mysterious government-maintained lists or due to certain travel patterns that trigger additional screening. A limited market exists where these travelers would appreciate relief from additional screening. However, these are also likely to be the audience most likely to be denied access to the program by the TSA.
So long as the program offers no relief from the X-ray and metal detector process, their adoption rates will not support a large market. To make matters worse, should the market fracture, with airports contracting with separate, incompatible providers, I would anticipate a further rejection of the idea from the marketplace.
Categories
Under the Weather
I’ve been feeling a little under the weather this weekend, which should be no surprise since we had a long holiday weekend to mark Martin Luther King, Jr. These things tend to coincide well with time slated to be spent out of the office.
Categories
Who Are These People Indeed
NPR’s On the Media included some of their favorite clips at the end of the January 6th broadcast, including this gem about the Justin Timberlake – Janet Jackson dust-up during the Superbowl.
KATYA ROGERS: I love this clip. Brooke’s speaking to reporter Pam Constable in Kabul about the controversial appearance of women on Afghan TV.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: You talk about an election season in Afghanistan. Of course we have one here, and we also have an argument over broadcast standards that won’t seem to go away. From where you stand, how does Janet Jackson’s little problem seem to you?
PAMELA CONSTABLE: You know, I’m sorry, Brooke, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: It’s been dominating the headlines here. During the halftime show at the Super Bowl, Justin Timberlake reached over and – [OVERTALK]
PAMELA CONSTABLE: Who is Justin Timberlake? I am in the mountains of Central Asia. Who is Justin? Who are these people? [LAUGHTER]
BROOKE GLADSTONE: [LAUGHS] I really envy you.
PAMELA CONSTABLE: [LAUGHS]
Ok, it’s not as funny as a transcript, but by all means check it out.
Categories
Social Security
Still think replacing Social Security with personal accounts is a good idea? Check out this article for more information on the vaunted model of privitization, Chile.
Categories
The Worst Day
It was as if the Angel of Death descended upon us, without the comfort of knowing whether you had the mark of safety over your door. We sat huddled at our desks, wondering, waiting, hungering after any news. Rumors zipped along the various communication forms like wildfire, bringing names. More often than not the e-mails would come, confirming the rumor. “I can’t believe it” became the day’s refrain.
By afternoon we began venturing out. Huddled in doorways and hallways, questioning, comforting, supporting, we began to put the pieces together. More names flowed upon the ether, with more goodbyes and good lucks handed out. Some had been expecting, making plans; others were just beginning to process. All were sad. Those of us who remained questioned which was the luckier set. For today was pink slip day. And so tomorrow the work begins.
Categories
The K-Street Project
The CS Monitor finally begins catching up on the K-Street project, recognizing that this isn’t your daddy’s political corruption. While the make the key association, their “endorsment” of action at the end is weak.
The question around town now is what should be done to clean up lobbying? But the moment after it is asked there are a series of provisos about how Abramoff is a rare case and most lobbyists are honest and play by the rules. And since what Abramoff did was against the law already, what more can be done?
There’s something of a point there. Lobbying isn’t a dirty profession by definition, after all. It is an established part of the political process that helps groups and individuals get what they want from the system. But because of what they do, lobbyists naturally dance on a fine line, and it is guaranteed they will step over it from time to time.
That’s all true, of course. It’s just that they probably tend to go a lot further over the line when the political parties give them a push.