by Frank Maduri

Reflections of 9/11: Darkness Then Light – Poetry by Frank J. Maduri

It has been 13 years since the terror attacks of 9/11 on New York City and Washington D.C. which shook our nation, and the world, to its core. Some children today were not even born when these tragedies occurred. The rest of us all have our own personal account of that day because the memories are still so stark and profound in our consciousness.

I find that September 11th and Hurricane Sandy are two events that are difficult for me to write about, and I can write about nearly any subject. I attribute this difficulty to the personal impact that both events had on my life. I also feel that words cannot adequately express the multiple layers of emotions emoted by those two tragic events.

I wrote a short post here on Frank’s Forum last year on the anniversary of the attacks which was focused on the remembrance of those victims who lost their lives, their families, and the firemen and first responders for their brave service. Those sentiments all certainly still remain, and will always remain a part of this day for me. I also continue to focus on living my life and directing my work in honor of those who died so tragically that terrible day.

I have had some time for reflection today, and over the years I have come to find that through even the darkest of times there is light which shines and goodness which comes to the forefront. I found that in the testimonials of those who survived the terror attacks who were helped by total strangers that day. I have witnessed it in my own community after Hurricane Sandy struck the Jersey Shore. People I had never met helped my wife and I as we struggled with that terrible circumstance. That is the light of the human soul that we need to focus on today and in the days ahead.

The darkness seems to be upon us again with ISIS and terrorist activity in Africa as well as a war in Ukraine. It seems like history again repeating itself, but we can change that narrative. We can change that narrative into one of hope, peace, and love for one another that will, in the end, be the light that shines through all the darkness of the human condition.

I mentioned earlier that I have a hard time with expressing my thoughts on 9/11 because the event so profoundly shocked, saddened, angered, and hurt me. The best way I could think to share some of those emotions is through my creative work, through some poetry I wrote about that tragic day and the days since.

 

 

“The Towers Fell”

This one tragic day in September It started with a bright cloudless sky

It’s a day I’ll always remember Later that morning, three thousand people would die

I remember being truly frightened

They attacked our home, it happened so fast

Now many years have come and passed

For the victims, their families, life hasn’t brightened

All over the globe was a shockwave

The stock market ceased trading for days

Our lives were in a vacuum in many ways

I wish more lives that day God could save

The towers fell, which lead to a war

Our days will never be the same as before

For those who that day lost their lives I pray for their families, their husbands, and wives.

 

 

“Across the Bay”

My wife and I were in Union Beach today

She took pictures, we looked across the Bay In the distance the Manhattan skyline

We could see the rising new Freedom Tower

Though this town is far from fine Talking with people here – they’re sour

About the slow rebuilding after the storm

Six months after Sandy’s powerful wrath

It doesn’t help that the weather isn’t warm

Though the people trust the Lord’s path

I wish there was something I could say

To help alleviate their pain, anger, fear

I say this to my wife and we looked across the Bay

I knew how lucky I was for all I hold so dear

 

 

“America No More”

You know what scares me?

It’s if America ceased to be

If I lost all of my freedom

If I lost all of my liberty

Someone told me when I could go and come

That is what truly scares me

If I couldn’t say what I feel

If I couldn’t offer God praise

If I was stripped of the American ideal

I would exist as if in a haze

If someone told me what I had to write

If I was told what I had to believe

I would rather just lose my sight

The loss of beloved America is more than I can conceive

 

 

“Sky Fall”

In the blue sky that fateful morning

It all came crashing down with no warning

Lives ended, innocence trampled, hope lost

Evil pervasive, good extinguished, society tossed –

Upside down, backwards, the towers collapsed

The entire world, everywhere, collectively gasped

Earlier that morning from the sky would fall –

My Dad throwing to me a white baseball

I was supposed to that day get on a flight

My Dad had a feeling something wasn’t right

The night before I had a bad feeling too

Throughout the morning that feeling grew

Though what happened I never anticipated

Instantly so much shock, sadness was created

My Grandpa was on a plane somewhere that day

From the sky it did fall safely landing in Raleigh

So many lives cut short, so many months of fear

Why are they gone and I’m still here?

So much rain like tears from the sky fall

So much has changed, yet nothing changed at all

From the sky will fall rays of the Sun

To show us all our journey has just begun

 

 

“Darkness Then Light”

Evil comes in all of its darkness

Hatred for those they’ve never met

An unspeakable act of destruction

Shattering the lives of so many at once

My mind cannot comprehend it

I wake up some days, think it’s –

A nightmare that it never occurred

Then I feel the warmth of the Sun

The light fills up the room

I realize that good will prevail

I rise to take advantage

Of the blessed gift of life

I move forward to honor those lost

I have time they did not receive

I have an obligation to do right

To love and serve all others

To inspire and to live in the light

The light of a blessed new day

 

 

“Imbued”

Seeking solace where there’s none

Another days’ battles lost and won

Emboldened by success to build

For tomorrows’ challenges fulfilled

By the small measures taken –

By man. Your confidence unshaken

Imbued and not ever feeling dismayed

From your core principles you’re unswayed

Stay the course against the shifts in tide

Your fears and worries will subside

The world is there to devour

But it’s also there for you to scour

To find the pathway best suited

Not become undermined or polluted

To face the days whether gloomy or bright

To move forward further to the light

Embarking constantly on new avenues

Knowing your faith guides what you choose

Seeking the way to find your success

Imbued with hope and willing to accept nothing less

 

 

“Glory Be”

Glory be the Father, the Son

The Holy Spirit – Blessed Trinity

His love for us has just begun

His love will live for infinity

He created the Earth and the Moon

He created the glorious Heaven

But nobody wants to get there soon

Jesus took bread with no leaven

He blessed and broke it for all

He took the cup of wine – “My blood”

He carried the Cross, three times to fall

His death, sorrow over the world did flood

Victory over sin and death we believe

Eternal life, through Christ, we receive

 

We will never forget the lives lost on September 11th or in the terror attacks throughout the world since then. God bless all of you.

 

(Copyright 2014- Frank J. Maduri – all rights reserved. Image of NY is copyrighted image all rights reserved.  No copying or redistribution of this material without express written consent from the author)

by Frank Maduri

California In Drought – Nestle Bottles Water?

The severe drought conditions being experienced in the West have been a source of concern for several months and have shown no signs of improvement. There are mandatory fines in California, Nevada, and other western states for watering lawns or washing down driveways. The agricultural consequences of this drought have been devastating to California with reports of crops lost.

 

The job market in California has been impacted as well with farming and other agricultural related jobs down across the board. The drought has effected small towns in the desert valleys and big cities near the coast, with nearly 95% of the Golden State’s population in some sort of water restriction.

 

Here on my blog, Frank’s Forum, I have covered the impact of the drought on Lake Mead and the subsequent water supply issues for Las Vegas, parts of Arizona, and Southern California. One of the “mega themes” of my blog is the environment and issues of sustainability, so this issue falls into both of those categories.

 

The media has reported recently about another controversial aspect dealing with the sustainability of water amidst the catastrophic drought gripping California at this point and that is the continued practice of Nestle to bottle water there for export to other states.

 

The issue is a highly charged and polarizing one with some viewing the activity by Nestle as wrong or unfair; and others viewing it as a necessary job creator and supplier of a healthy beverage alternative.

 

Current Conditions

The estimates from well-respected environmental science groups are that the Western states have lost 63 trillion gallons of water during the drought. This is driven primarily by the effects of climate change on the supply sources which in turn feed the reservoirs in those states.

 

In California, three major reservoir areas have been dramatically impacted by the drought conditions plaguing that huge state:

  • Trinity Lake = 29% capacity
  • Shasta (fed by Sacramento River) = 30% capacity
  • Oroville = 31% capacity

The City of San Jose recently instituted a city-wide water restriction policy for the over 982,000 residents of California’s third largest city. The restrictions include a fine of $500.00 for washing down a driveway.

 

Sacramento and other large cities throughout California have similar water restriction policies in place. The reservoir supply levels are so drastically low, that these policies are necessary to better protect the remaining supply of this dwindling and essential natural resource.

 

In my research, the local websites for news in California are covered with advertising for lawn replacement services promoting sales of synthetic grass products.  It is only natural that conditions dictate a market for other businesses to provide their products or services which are driven by the demand for those products; in this case due to the unfortunate severity of the drought conditions.

 

Many California residents have ripped up their lawns rather than watch them wither away and die because they cannot use the water to nurture their grass and other landscaping. This action also has a conservative effect in that the synthetic surfaces will obviously help retain water supply levels for use for drinking or other critical functions.  These same residents have varied opinions on the fact that one giant food and beverage company is still allowed to bottle water for sale while everyone else is dealing with shortages of this resource.

 

The Nestle Dilemma

 

The bottled water division of Nestle’, the world’s largest food company, has several brands under its umbrella. In the California desert, in Millard Canyon which is about 80 miles east of Los Angeles, is the site of the water source for Nestlé’s Arrowhead Natural Spring Water and Pure Life water brands.

 

The site is located on the Morongo Indian Reservation and is considered a sovereign nation therefore it does not have to comply with state laws concerning the drought restrictions on water. Nestle entered into a 25 year agreement with the tribe sometime around 2001-02.

 

Under the terms of this agreement, Nestle pays the tribe for the water it extracts from the site. An ancillary component of this arrangement is that the source site is exempt from local oversight and is not legally obligated to disclose the water amounts being utilized for the manufacturing of their product.

 

The reports from local residents are mostly negative toward Nestle because those communities are dealing with water restrictions, sewage issues, and disruptions in their water service. It is understandable that they would be upset that just down the road a huge corporation is drawing out water to bottle and export to other states across America.

 

The State of California has 100 bottled water facilities located within its borders, and their operation has been largely unaffected by the drought. The majority of the other water facilities have a different situation than the Nestle facility in Millard Canyon. Those production facilities have to report their water consumption activity to a state level agency. The water conservation restrictions are handled by the county level or local authorities, and they are essentially cut out of the situation when the bottled water manufacturers deal directly with the state agency in Sacramento.

 

It is important to mention that the other bottled water manufacturers have strong feelings regarding the Nestle deal at Millard Canyon and have aired those grievances to the media. The general consensus is that all the bottled water and beverage manufacturers should be held to the same standards for reporting their respective usage at all the facilities located in California.

 

This activity begs the question: Should the bottled water companies be allowed to proceed when the rest of the California is under such dire water restrictions? Should Nestle be allowed to bottle water in an essentially completely unregulated scenario on a Native American Indian reservation?

 

Meanwhile, CNBC published a very well done piece on this subject which explains how much water is used to make soft drinks, scotch whiskey, and other beverages.

 

In my own professional background working in the food and beverage industry and dealing with bottled water companies, I know that it takes water to make water. In order to make 1 liter of bottled water it takes 1.39 liters of water that is due to the amount lost during the various stages of processing.

 

In addition, it should be noted that the packaging used, which is also made in California, the PET plastic and the various other plastic bottle packaging uses a significant amount of water in the production process. In a place where water is in a critical level shortage it has raised debate over whether it is appropriate for this activity to continue.

 

 

Green Water

 

The bottled water industry is a $12.2 billion dollar empire and California is a state strapped with debt and other economic problems, making this situation even more problematic on a variety of levels.

 

Local residents also note that Nestle has a reputation for moving into small towns and communities and draining the area of all the water supply, “down to the last drop” as one resident explains, and then moves on to the next town.

 

Many groups of concerned residents and environmental conservationists maintain that this sort of activity by Nestle and other large beverage manufacturers involved in bottling water should be regulated and curtailed as soon as possible.

 

If California were to get involved in a regulatory measure against the bottled water manufacturers, it would constrain further the economic difficulties of this state in a post recessionary period that has been very difficult. However, the larger ethical questions raised and the ecological impact involved has become the central focus of the debate in the Golden State at this point which has become more important than the economic issues involved.

 

Nestle responded to some of these allegations but did not comment on the questions regarding their past practices of extracting a source to the end and then uprooting out of the respective community. The company did, in fair balance, raise the point that if they were to cease operations then the people of California would be forced to choose an alternative beverage such as soda, iced tea, or beer. The company spokesperson focused on their commitment to providing healthy choices through bottled water and that they have strict environmental standards in place to remain compliant with California laws.

 

The Nestle plant, it was noted, was designed to prevent damage to the local groundwater supply. Though the details to how it is designed specifically were not disclosed.

 

The Morongo facility is on tribal land, and they are not bound to disclose information on the water usage levels there. However, for those residents that maintain that it creates jobs, the detractors would point out that the facility employs 250 people.

 

Sustainability

 

The fact remains that water is a precious natural resource and it needs to be safeguarded and protected during times of drought or supply shortage. The concurrent theme running through this situation is that of the effects of climate change.

 

In my previous work covering the dire situation at Lake Mead, the largest water reservoir in the United States, it is apparent that climate change is having a dramatic impact on the mountain streams which feed the Colorado River, which in turn supplies Lake Mead.

 

The changes in temperatures and environmental as well as atmospheric conditions coupled with the increased westward population migration trend in the United States, and the result is a significant problem with potentially dangerous consequences to a huge number of people. The impact of climate change and migratory patterns of several species of birds including the changing temperatures being tied to the deaths of these animals has also received increased media attention this week.

 

In Nevada, the state and local government agencies have worked diligently on programs focused on sustainability of the water supply through the reuse and recycling of the water in their system. Some reports I researched detailed the proposals currently pending in California regarding similar measures, though some members of the population are hesitant about the recycling processes involving wastewater, so it remains a work in progress.

 

I believe that recycled water technologies are going to account for a large amount of the innovations moving forward as a method to deal with the effects of climate change. The system currently in place to provide water service to residences and businesses in many regions of America leaves some room for improvement and increased focus on sustainability.

 

The question remains: Should Nestle and other beverage conglomerates be allowed to bottle water for export to other states during severe drought conditions where residents are dealing with restricted access to water?

 

That debate will continue to be a part of our national conversation but the role of climate change in this scenario cannot be overlooked. The larger question of our role in environmental stewardship will also continue to frame a much larger argument in the months to come.

 

(Background information and statistics courtesy of CNBC, USA Today, The Associated Press, and the International Bottled Water Association)

 

 

by Frank Maduri

Selected Poetry by Frank J. Maduri

It has been a little while since I posted some poetry here. I felt it particularly incumbent on me to share some of this work today as it seems our world is falling apart at the seams every time I go on the internet or watch the news at the gym. There is hope and we all can find it in little things each day.

The poems that follow have been entered in poetry contests, literary magazines, and also submitted to religious websites and newsletters. I hope this work resonates with you.

 

“Powerless”

 

Every day another bombing or attack

Another terror act, more brutality

It’s become our worlds’ new reality

Wishing our world would just go back

Before the attacks on New York City

And the months of sorrow and pity

 

We feel powerless to prevent these acts

Some horrible tragedy suddenly occurs

Everyone’s on edge and just reacts

The laws, sides, morality; it all blurs

 

However it’s the terrorists who’ll atone

For all of their evil and sinfulness

When they have to stand at God’s throne

Then they’ll be truly powerless

 

“Free Form”

 

My head hurts from the stress;

I try to stay the course.

This world is such a mess;

Many people show no remorse.

Abuse, neglect, disease, turmoil

War, murder, political corruption, instability.

People fighting over the same soil;

Leadership which lacks capability.

A banking system which is in shambles;

A fragile union in Europe on the edge.

Every politician just rambles;

“Not our problem” is the usual pledge.

Egypt has elected new leadership;

Syria has continued to spiral in chaos.

The Middle East is losing its grip;

The war in Afghanistan is a total loss.

A world torn apart by war and sin;

We know we need to find peace.

The Lord is the answer;

Prayer is the best communication.

I hope we find the humility

To find it within ourselves

To ask for help from the Lord.

 

“Another Night”

 

The end to another chaotic day

Yields to the calm of the night

My mind is somewhere out of sight

Where drugs and bullets fly when kids play

 

Where people struggle just to eat

Where violence occurs everyday

They don’t know any other way

Where people live on the street

 

Another night I spend comfortably

Another night they’ll spend in fear –

Of being stabbed, robbed, even killed

Another night they’ll spend hungry

There’s no solution that’s clear

Another night I’m left feeling so unfulfilled

 

 

“Curtain”

 

The Sun through the leaves

The trees around me, the smell –

Of the woods, reminds me of youth

The curtain of branches protecting –

Me from the powerful Sun rays

Cooling myself, the rabbits, and birds

I remember back to playing in a tree house

Or hiking in the park with my parents

The curtain has drawn on those days

My youth is long gone – family has changed

The curtain has gone up on a new stage

My life has evolved into a haze of work

And medical issues which control the action

Of my days and I don’t spend enough –

Time returning to the roots of nature

The roots of what God has provided

The curtain will go down on this stage

One day too – my days will change

My life will be less busy and priorities

Will shift – between the curtain

I look to take advantage of each day

To trust in God and take each day

As a gift and a blessing

Like walking today in the woods

Before the final curtain is drawn

 

 

“Origin”

 

Watching war and famine unfold –

The origin of my sorrow.

The struggle of the poor –

The origin of my frustration.

Seeing those I love live in pain –

The origin of my anger.

My inability to cope with it all –

The origin of my despair.

Thoughts of things I could have done –

The origin of my regret.

Missing out on life due to illness or injury

The origin of my melancholy.

The love of my wife and family –

The origin of my strength.

My dedication to writing –

The origin of my pride.

To serve my God above –

The origin of my life’s purpose.

Commitment to prayer –

My origin of inner peace.

The love of my God

The origin of my security.

To love and serve others

The origin of my life’s goals

 

 

 

“Divine Mercy”

 

His Divine Mercy is endless

I thought as I prayed today

As God is my witness

I’m sorry for pushing it away

With God at the center

Anything can be done

Allow His love to enter

Your battles will be won

It brings me some calm, peace

When I stop to pray

My worries all cease

He washes them away

 

“Without Warning”

 

You never know that it’s near;

It strikes from out of nowhere

Without warning to create fear

To reap a full measure of despair

You can try to be calm, be ready

Nothing can prepare for what’s ahead

It’ll rock you until you’re unsteady

It will bring you a sense of dread

Without warning whether fog or clear

Evil will strike in your life

The Lord will dry every tear

The Lord is shelter during chaos and strife

If you trust in Him and believe

He is there for you, all of us, always

Then victory over sin you’ll achieve

He is there for us today and all of our days

Without warning, He will return once more

To show us the Path that’s true;

Peace and love, He will soon restore.

Without warning, He’ll come to you.

So don’t be anxious or afraid.

Through Jesus our sin debt has been paid.

 

Thank you for reading my poetry and visiting my blog!

 

Copyright – 2014 – Frank J. Maduri – All rights reserved.

No copying or reproduction, or reuse of any kind without express written consent from the author.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by Frank Maduri

Summer TV Heats Up: Broadcast TV Ratings Review

The summer television season in the United States was once a barren terrain consisting of re-broadcasted programming from the main television ratings “sweeps periods”, also known as “reruns”. It has also been a time for some limited engagement mini-series type events, and when I was a child I remember ABC TV out of New York running children’s movies in primetime slots during the summer months. The other broadcast channels would use the primetime slots to broadcast “second run movies” during the week, and especially on Saturday nights from May through early September.

 

That dynamic then changed slightly to a situation where the “Big Four” networks (later adding CW Network, Univision, and My Network Television) would be comfortable in conceding the summer months to the cable networks. They would let the cable networks dominate the ratings without putting much effort into production of any new programming options.

 

Eventually, due to the growth of cable and satellite television providers, and the advent of internet streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon; the major networks decided to become real competitive players in the once dormant summer broadcasting period.

 

Summer Ratings Heat Up

 

The decision by the “Big Four” broadcasters (plus the CW network which skews towards the key summer demographic: kids, tweens, teens, and young adults all home from school) has created a scenario where the summer TV ratings and subsequent advertising dollars are becoming a growing ancillary revenue stream for the networks.

The timing of the decision about 4 years ago was right too, Americans were caught in the grip of an economic recession. Many families were forced to forego their usual summer vacation plans, and very hot periods of weather in the summer of 2010 and 2011 kept people indoors which drove up television viewership levels.

 

Each of the “Big Four” networks have, over the course of the past two to three years, developed their own “mainstay” show which drives their summer programming. Currently, it is 12 weeks into the summer television season (which begins the day after the May sweeps period ends) so I thought it would be an ideal time to review the ratings for this summer.

 

First, some background on each network and their approach to summer programming:

  • NBC – their approach at “the Peacock” to the summer months centers around two programs: America’s Got Talent (A.G.T.) and Night Shift. They run the A.G.T. talent search program on two nights: Tuesday (new content) and Wednesday (the results show). The show has been a huge success for the network and is a family friendly show which is appealing in the summer.
  • CBS – they bank their success on science fiction type programming to capture the interest of the crucial 18-49 ratings demographic with Under The Dome (which set summer ratings records for them in 2013) and a new program featuring Academy Award winning actress, Halle Berry, called Extant. The strategy at CBS, like everything else they do lately, has been very successful. Extant has the best ratings of any new show this summer. Then the long time mainstay program The Big Brother reality series came from out of nowhere to outperform expectations and become a huge hit for the network this summer.
  • ABC – the summer season is jump started by the NBA Finals with live sports television being the new gold standard for television ratings. This summer’s edition of basketball’s biggest series provided a huge ratings boost to the network with a 6.1 rating and a 20 share in the 18-49 demo per Nielsen. Then in mid-June (the NBA Finals ended on Father’s Day) the network shifts to their other summer centerpiece The Bachelor/Bachelorette reality series depending on where they are in that cycle. The summer of 2014 brought a Bachelorette series into the mix which ended up being the 8th most watched program in total viewers and made it into the Top 10 at the 10th spot of top ratings for the 18-49 age group with a 2.07 Nielsen rating.
  • FOX – their strategy was to reintroduce a short series run of their one-time hit show 24 starring Kiefer Sutherland, called 24 Live Another Day which is an action/suspense thriller type program. The strategy worked with the program in the Top 5 for overall viewers this summer. Their other featured summer program is the cooking competition series with the volatile and unpredictable celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey titled Master Chef.

 

Summer TV: By the Numbers

 

After 12 weeks, the summer TV ratings have solidified to the point where some finite results can be determined. The ratings from Nielsen are based on the total of 115.6 million television households in the United States with a single ratings point representing 1% or 1.156 million households tuned to the program. The share is the percentage of all the televisions in use during that time slot which are tuned to a specific program. In the most recent data from Nielsen, the ratings breakdown is as follows:

 

Total Ratings by Network:

  • ABC and NBC are tied at the top of the leader board in the total ratings with a 1.4 and a 5 share in the 18-49 demographic. However NBC has the edge between the two in total viewers with 5.48 million compared to ABC with 5.1 million – both figures for both respective networks are down 7% from last summer.
  • FOX is in third place, just barely, with a 1.2 rating and a 4 share of the 18-49 demographic which is down 14% from last summer.
  • CBS is in fourth place with a 1.1 rating and a 4 share of 18-49 which is down 8% from the summer of 2013. The silver lining is that CBS averages 5.83 million primetime viewers this summer, which demonstrates the trend of older viewers who tend to be loyal to the network.
  • CW Network (joint venture between CBS and Warner Brothers) is last with a 0.3 rating and 1 share of 18-49. However their total viewership number is 7% higher than last summer.

 

Top Shows by Total Viewers

 

  1. America’s Got Talent (Tuesday) =         12.5 million average
  2. America’s Got Talent (Wednesday)=   10.3 million average
  3. Under The Dome    =                                  10.1 million average
  4. Extant                        =                                  9 million average (best new show)
  5. 24: Live Another Day        =                      8.55 million average
  6. Night Shift                            =                      8.3 million average
  7. Unforgettable                     =                      7.65 million average
  8. Bachelorette                        =                      7.35 million average
  9. Big Brother  (Sunday)       =                      7 million average
  10.  Big Brother (Wednesday) =                   7 million average

 

Top Shows in 18-49 demographic

The following are the top shows in the 18-49 demographic which is important to note because while another show might have more total viewers, the shows that rank highly in this list can charge more for advertising time which generates more revenue for the network.  This list is calculated by overall 18-49 group rating:

 

  1. America’s Got Talent (Tuesday) = 3.1
  2. Big Brother (Thursday) =                            2.49
  3. Big Brother (Sunday) =                  2.45
  4. Big Brother (Wednesday) =         2.43
  5. Under the Dome =                         2.43
  6. 24: Live Another Day =                2.39
  7. America’s Got Talent (Wed.) =    2.38
  8. Master Chef =                                 2.31
  9. Hell’s Kitchen =                               2.16
  10.  Bachelorette =                               2.07
  11.  American Ninja Warrior =         1.92
  12.  So You Think You Can Dance=  1.84
  13.  Night Shift =                                   1.83
  14.  Extant =                                           1.68

 

Analysis

 

The cursory review of these results provides apparent conclusions on the demographics of certain programs. A show such as Big Brother is at the bottom of the Top 10 in overall viewers, yet it compromises the second, third, and fourth place slots in the 18-49 demographic which aptly reflects the younger audience for the program.

 

Stephen King’s science fiction concept, Under the Dome, is third in overall viewers with a whopping 10.1 million viewers for a summer show, but it ranks 5th in the 18-49 demo with a 2.43 rating. That reflects two issues, a stronger viewership in older viewers which is interesting given the content of the show, and a loss in viewers that is trending downward. The show has been killing off popular cast members, causing some viewers, my wife and I included, to discontinue viewership of the program.

 

The reboot of Jack Bauer’s character in 24: Live Another Day is 5th in overall viewers and 6th in 18-49 aged viewers which demonstrates the appeal to that demographic almost exclusively.

The ABC reality series The Bachelorette, is 8th in total viewers and 10th in the 18-49 category proving that the program appeals to a range of audiences including an older audience of people over 50. This series is the only top 10 program for ABC and it hurts the network because they cannot sell advertising time for the show anywhere near the rates that the other 3 networks can command.  NBC has A.G.T. which is the top show in 18-49 ratings, CBS has Big Brother which is a powerhouse show for the target demographic as well as Under The Dome, and FOX has 24 which is 6th in the coveted 18-49 ratings.

 

Finally, the group of shows Extant, Unforgettable, and Night Shift are great examples of programs that receive excellent overall ratings and limited to no 18-49 demographic support. Extant pulls down an average of 9 million viewers, yet it is fourteenth on the 18-49 list. Night Shift on NBC is very similar with 8.3 million total viewers and a thirteenth place showing in the 18-49 bracket. Unforgettable on CBS is the 7th most watched show of the summer and is not anywhere near the top 15 in the 18-49 group meaning that the majority of those viewers are older based on the time slot and data, they are not younger than 18.

 

Summer Ratings Outlook

 

The data is clear, the broadcast networks have come to compete with the cable networks and the internet streaming services for viewers and ratings. Some of the networks have been pretty innovative in producing limited summer series which have captured viewers, others have gone the reality show route or the talent competition route to draw in viewers.

 

This data proves that many Americans enjoy watching television and demand more choices and options, even in the summer time. The data has even driven some networks to end their summer series during the same week their Fall television programs are set to premiere. A few years ago that decision would have been unthinkable.

It is also apparent from this summer television data that whether you are watching Jack save the day on 24, Big Jim and the next problem the dome will dish out on Under the Dome, Halle Berry’s struggles with re-entry from a long “solo” mission in space on Extant, or the next contestant to move forward on America’s Got Talent; summer television programming is here to stay.

 

The summer television terrain is no longer a place for second run movies and rebroadcasts of earlier programs, it is a place dominated by new content and original programming. That is a welcome change for both the networks and the viewers.

 

(Ratings data, demographic data, advertising revenue data, total TV market/share data courtesy of AC Nielsen, Ad Age, The Wire, and TV Guide.com)

 

by Frank Maduri

MLS Roundup: All Star Week Edition

This week in MLS (Major League Soccer) was a busy one between the All Star Game festivities in Portland, OR and the news surrounding some of the flagship franchises in the league. The news cycle even featured a couple of stories about the potential expansion of the league.

 

I will provide some perspective on the week that was in MLS as the league continues to ride a surge of momentum from the World Cup in Brazil.

 

Empire State of Mind

 

The week began with the news revolving around the two New York Metro area franchises: the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC (who will begin play in 2015). The Red Bulls have been dealing with some negative media attention since the story broke that they had whiffed on bringing in international superstar, Xavi, who looked certain to be headed there to play in MLS.

 

The story deepened with a report that Xavi decided to not play for the Red Bulls because he learned that their current captain and star player, Thierry Henry, was not returning to the team next season. Henry is in the last year of his contract and the negotiations on a potential new agreement had been problematic over the past few months. The news that he may not be returning has been met by a mixed set of emotions from Red Bulls fans: shock, anger, frustration, and others who are ready to move on from Henry to a different core star player.

 

New York City FC was in the mix to sign Xavi but they failed to do so, as the European superstar has decided to remain in Spain. The burgeoning expansion team which will play its home matches in the storied Yankee Stadium then announced a mega deal with Frank Lampard, who subsequently was featured on all the team’s on-line promotional efforts. The deal is for 2 years and it is believed to be the most expensive annual salaried contract in MLS history.

 

In other New York soccer news:

  • New York City FC announced the launch of their Facebook page (now that they have a few players signed to the roster)
  • New York Red Bulls and their sporting director, Andy Roxburgh, spent all week refuting media reports connecting aging star Ronaldinho with being targeted by the team. Roxburgh reiterated that the Red Bulls are not interested in bringing him on the roster but that he would be a welcome addition to MLS overall
  • Thierry Henry received a wonderful ovation from the crowd at the All Star Game in Portland on Wednesday night which was a very nice gesture by some of the most spirited fans in MLS

 

 

All Star Display

 

The MLS All Star team displayed their talent and demonstrated the improved skill level of the league by defeating Bayern Munich in the game held in Portland. The week leading into the game and the event on Wednesday night showcased the immense popularity of soccer in Portland, where fans are known to sleep outside to get tickets that do not go on sale on the website because every match is sold out.

 

The atmosphere and the crowd singing the National Anthem in unison, as well as the Portland Timbers mascot using a chainsaw to slice a section of wood off a tree every time the home team scores a goal; these are the sights and sounds of soccer in the Pacific Northwest.

It was all on full display on ESPN in a nationally televised event that will further boost the profile of the league heading into their new TV contract next season. That new TV contract will:

  • Retain ESPN as a broadcast partner which they have been since the beginning of MLS
  • Add FOX Sports and their 1 year old specialty sports channel, FOX Sports 1, to the mix of national coverage of MLS
  • NBC Sports will no longer cover the MLS after the end of this 2014 season
  • MLS leveraged a great deal because they added the second New York team and they have expansion teams already announced in Atlanta and Orlando
  • MLS was able to retain ESPN who wanted to keep a toe hold in soccer after losing the rights to the World Cup
  • MLS is able to partner with FOX Sports who is the new rights holder for the World Cup in the future
  • The new TV contract is going to create more “stand alone” featured games on Sundays throughout the MLS season

 

California Dreaming – Expansion Round Up

 

Those of you who read my coverage of MLS on my blog and on two other websites know that I have covered the topic of expansion extensively in the past. The latest developments on that topic was in the news cycle this week as well:

  • David Beckham is still trying to get a deal done on a stadium in Miami for his expansion bid there. MLS has been firm that they will not expand there until the stadium plan is in place. I have written previously about how the Port of Miami would not work and that idea is no longer being considered.
  • Beckham’s former team, Manchester United defeated Liverpool earlier this week in Miami in front of over 51,000 fans at the stadium where the Dolphins play NFL football. Beckham’s group is looking at stadium sites in Broward County – north of the City of Miami
  • The owners of the Sacramento Kings of the NBA have announced their intentions to purchase the minor league soccer team, the Sacramento Republic, who lead their league in average game attendance. The city also ranked very high in the television ratings for the World Cup and both of those factors have been noticed by the MLS executives in charge of expansion.

 

One Era Closes – Another Opens

 

The MLS has never been more popular than it is currently, and the interest seems to be on an upward growth trend. A new era for the league is on the horizon. This week we learned that Landon Donovan, one of the original stars and one of the most recognizable American soccer players, will be retiring at the end of this season.

 

Donovan and his fierce competitiveness and incredible talent has left an indelible mark on the MLS. His presence will be missed, but his time and his era is coming to a close. The league is poised to grow into new markets and attract increasingly talented players from the international ranks as the popularity of soccer increases in the sport’s “final frontier” as it has been called: the United States.

 

 (Some background information courtesy of MLSSoccer.com, NBC Sports, ESPN.com, SI.com, Miami Sun-Sentinel, FOX Sports, and Sacramento Bee) 

 

by Frank Maduri

NFL & Recycling: Detroit Lions “Turn It Green” Campaign

The National Football League is busily preparing for another season in about a month from today, currently the players are getting ready at training camps across the country. The Detroit Lions will be wearing new practice jerseys at camp on August 6th that are bright green in color and made from recycled materials.

 

The new uniforms mark the start of the team’s recycling campaign which is called “Turn It Green” and will have a social media hashtag of the same name to be used across Twitter, Facebook, InstaGram, and the other platforms.

 

The uniforms are made by Unifi and are part of their Repreve line of sports equipment made from recycled materials. Each jersey is made from 21 recycled bottles and the Lions will be giving away towels to fans who attend their practice session which are made from 3 recycled bottles each.

 

The campaign will also have a promotional contest where fans can enter to win a chance to throw the ball on the practice field with the Detroit Lions quarterbacks. The “Turn It Green” program will highlight the benefits of recycling and the team is adding several in-stadium recycling receptacles at Ford Field for the upcoming 2014 football season.

 

Raising Awareness

 

The announcement of this program featured some statistics on recycling including the fact that only 30% of the plastic bottles used in the U.S. are recycled. In fact, 75% of our overall garbage is recyclable in the U.S. but only 30% of that overall total is recycled.

Americans generate 21.5 million tons of food waste each year, which if it was composted, would be the equivalent reduction of greenhouse gases in the environment as if 2 million cars were taken off the roadways.

 

This campaign will raise awareness to the many benefits of recycling for our communities and the NFL and the Detroit Lions deserve credit for putting this program in motion. The NFL has more fans than any other sport in the U.S. and if this program reaches even a portion of them and changes their perception of the importance of recycling it will be a positive step in the right direction.

 

The use of social media and the contest are great ways to interact with their fans which is so important in marketing any type of campaign today. The program was certainly well thought out, and I will be interested to see if other NFL teams follow suit with similar initiatives in their community affairs and stadium operations.

 

I know the sight of the Lions taking the practice field in bright green uniforms will be a big change from their usual appearance, but it is for a very important reason, to raise awareness of the importance of recycling to protect our environment and conserve our natural resources.

 

(Background courtesy of CBS Sports.com, statistics courtesy of www.dosomething.org and EPA.gov)

by Frank Maduri

The Conflict In Ukraine and Malaysian Air Tragedy

The conflict in Ukraine and the tragedy involving a Malaysian Airlines jet which was shot down allegedly by a Russian separatists’ surface to air missile was devastating news to me yesterday. I normally do not write about foreign policy or wars, especially not on Frank’s Forum, but I felt compelled by the events of the past few days to do so.

 

The conflict in Ukraine is a complicated situation where different factions of the population have different ideas about how they see the future of their country evolving. I think they could solve this matter with many other types of methods besides war and bloodshed, but that is not how that situation played out.

 

The White House has been advocating for diplomatic resolutions to this conflict for several months, and just issued some further sanctions on the Russian government to motivate them to end their support of the separatist group in Ukraine. It took the disaster of the Malaysian Air jet crash to get President Vladimir Putin to call for a ceasefire in Ukraine today. Therefore, if there is any good to come out of an international tragedy with 300 innocent lives lost on a commercial aircraft, it was the “wake up call” it provided to the Russians to hopefully end this conflict peacefully.

 

The debate in the mainstream media yesterday was trying to find who is to blame for the Malaysian air tragedy. Was it the Ukrainian forces that shot down the plane by mistake? Did the pro-Russian separatist forces mistakenly think it was a supply plane and shoot it down? Was it the fault of the airline because the FAA had sent warnings to avoid flying over that part of the Crimean region because of the ongoing war and the high risk factor, yet their flight plan went straight through the region?

 

The answer in my mind is that all those factions are responsible for the tragic deaths of innocent lives on a commercial flight yesterday. In fact, we are all responsible for what has happened because this type of violence and hatred should not be acceptable in this world.

 

Middle East Chaos

 

The decision by Israel to begin a ground forces offensive against Hamas is the same type of situation. That area of the world has been a mess for a long time, and it is very sad. So many innocent people have lost their lives in the back and forth, tit-for-tat style of attacks that have been ongoing in that part of the world for decades.

 

It is made even more complicated by the fact that neither side trusts each other, and then takes actions which only reinforce that overall lack of trust. The example that comes to my mind is the Israeli forces finding Hamas troops trying to sneak over the borders in a tunnel during what was supposed to be a truce between these rival sides. Now how can Israel trust that Hamas will halt attacks and agree to terms of a peaceful resolution to this conflict? I do not think they can trust Hamas, and the spiral into more violence, brutality, and destruction will most certainly continue.

 

Then there is the horrible situation with Syria and the I.S.I.S. group of terrorists and the instability within Iraq, which you will all notice has taken a backseat in the mainstream news cycle since the Israel – Hamas situation heated up, and the horrible tragedy in Ukraine yesterday. But remember when the big story was the collapse of Iraq to a terrorist faction of extremists? Well that is still going on.

 

I sent out a “tweet” on the social media site, Twitter, recently that received a great deal of attention and “re-tweets”. It was my harrowing thought of the week: I saw a report that this I.S.I.S. terror group and their elusive leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, released an “annual report” to prove that they were more ruthless than the other terrorist groups. That is proof positive that we have major problems within our society.

 

Then I looked into it further and learned that I.S.I.S. was so brutal in their activities in Syria that even Al-Qaeda cut ties with them. This is a major problem for the stability and peace in that region and for the world. Yet now it is buried to the third or fourth story on the news, and it is unclear what the U.S. and the West are going to do to deal with that ruthless group. I do agree with the White House assessment that the best way forward is to build partnerships in the region in order to effectively deal with that situation in the long term. But what are we doing? What steps are being taken? How are we going to destabilize I.S.I.S.?

 

Respect

 

In the end analysis, all of these events of the past few weeks and months come down to a fundamental loss of respect and love for each other. A friend of mine commented on social media that essentially the world is suffering from the lack of common decency for others that people are unkind to one another.

 

The reliance on warfare to solve problems and disputes is a self-fulfilling situation where violence just leads to more violence and nothing really gets resolved. The “dogs of war” do not address the fundamental issues of what is plaguing the human society on an international level. The struggle between those with a great deal of wealth and resources and those who have little to none of either.

 

I saw on Twitter a few weeks ago a picture of a billboard someone took from somewhere here in America which had a dark color background and had a message in bright letters that read:

“You know that whole ‘Love one another’ thing…I meant that – God”

 

We have lost sight of the Great Commandment to love one another. We need to get it back and to find peaceful resolutions instead of violence, war, and the disrespect for life being shown every night on the evening news.

 

I will now close with a poem I wrote recently which sums up this situation:

 

“Piling Up”

 

The excuses are piling up

It’s not our business to get involved

The anger is piling up

By people all over the world

The death toll is piling up

In Syria, the C.A.R., South Sudan

The rage is piling up

Over the injustice of tyranny

The sadness is piling up

Over the hopelessness we all feel

The dead bodies are piling up

Every time I turn on the news

The numbers keep piling up

Of girls kidnapped in Nigeria

The frustration is piling up

As the U.S., the West does nothing

The evil is piling up

Everywhere it seems these days

My prayers are piling up

That peace will prevail, justice will reign

My hope is piling up

That the Lord will intercede for goodness

My confidence is piling up

Because I know He can heal all things

 

 

Copyright 2014 – Frank J. Maduri – All rights reserved. No republication without written permission from the author.

 

by Frank Maduri

Minimum Wage Debate: A Six Month Review – Follow Up

The debate surrounding the minimum wage increase has been extraordinarily divisive among the American general public. I have covered this issue from a variety of aspects, particularly surrounding the referendum vote affirming a minimum wage increase in my home state of New Jersey in January.

 

Now, six months later, I will again follow up on this contentious subject and as I have done in the past, I will analyze the data available to measure the impact on the job market in those states which increased wages.

 

The Data: Six Months Later

 

The report from the Center for Economic & Policy Research is very promising. There were no job losses in most states which raised the minimum wage, and if you do not recall from my earlier coverage, 13 states raised that wage for the workers in their respective states.

 

In fact, all but 1 state of the 13 states saw job growth within the first 5 months of the passage of the minimum wage increase. The states that raised the minimum wage had better job growth than those that did not raise the minimum wage.

 

Furthermore, the top 10 states for job growth feature 4 states which raised the minimum wage: Florida, Washington, Oregon, and Colorado. This data is exciting for the proponents of the minimum wage increase and will help their cause to gain traction on the national level.

 

Conversely, the data in this report will be largely damaging to those factions which continue to oppose the increase in the minimum wage from being approved in other states or on the federal level.

 

However, the detractors will most probably point out that the economy needs to fill higher paying jobs at a much more prevalent rate in order to fully bounce back. This statement would be rather accurate given the current state of the economy.

 

The factions who strongly defend the minimum wage increase would argue that the economy and job growth usually always starts from the bottom and progresses up the salary chain. Therefore, the gains made in the minimum wage jobs, they would argue, are an indication of future job growth of higher paying positions. These factions would use the data from this report to illustrate a trend in overall job growth in the 13 states with raised minimum wages which have also seen stronger job growth across the salary spectrum.

 

The Garden State Blues

 

My home state, New Jersey, has the worst job growth of the states that raised the minimum wage and is the worst state overall for job performance with a decline in net hiring of .56%, according to the Center for Economic & Policy Research.

 

The national labor force participation rate is declining, and New Jersey has been impacted by that unfortunate pattern in the labor market as well. The labor force participation rate is the amount of people who live in a particular state who are within the legal working age and that are gainfully employed.

 

The labor force participation rate in New Jersey was 63% in January 2014, the lowest rate since June 1983, during that horrible recession. In New Jersey and across the nation the share of people in their prime earning years that are employed is declining.

 

New Jersey is suffering for multiple reasons, the taxes on businesses coupled with the high standard of living have caused companies to either leave the state or hire less people. The cutbacks in hiring are due to the fact that the labor force here needs higher wages in order to meet the cost of living. It creates a vicious cycle.

 

In another report I reviewed, a study of major metropolitan areas and their respective job growth versus population size, I found that both New York City and Philadelphia finished in the bottom for job growth given that measurement. New Jersey relies on both of those cities to employ large amounts of their residents, which is obvious when you look at the bedroom communities that have sprouted up in New Jersey near those two major cities in the past.

 

That metric, the labor force participation rate, has everyone, including the White House, concerned about the job market in the near term. A member of the White House staff confirmed that they have to do more to assist businesses to enable them to create more jobs that are higher paying to improve the participation rate.

 

Stigma

 

I poured through several reports and data, but the biggest issue with the labor force participation rate is the stigma involved in society over the perception of those who are long term unemployed.

 

The studies I reviewed displayed a growing misconception by hiring managers and large and small corporations that the members of the labor force who have been unemployed for a long period of time cannot adequately fulfill the duties of the respective job which is currently open.

 

Several labor market analysts and those within the federal government who analyze job market trends disagree with this assessment, and acknowledge that the American economy still has a huge issue with long term unemployed people who are in their prime earning years. That figure stands currently at 35%, so for all the news that the job market is improving, that statistic is particularly alarming and damaging to our economy.

 

The debate within these circles and within the federal and state governments will shift in the coming months into a new focus: how to reverse that mindset and reverse the downward trend in the stagnant hiring of the long term unemployed. Many options are being discussed including potentially incentivizing the process for companies that do hire those individuals who have been out of work for a prolonged period of time.

 

Outlook

 

This report on the minimum wage increase certainly casts some light on the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report which I think was too quick to “jump the gun” on the effects of the minimum wage on job growth. That report, in summary, basically maintains that minimum wage increases would have little to no positive impact on the creation of jobs.

 

The outlook for the proponents of the cause to get the federal government to raise the minimum wage is, in my opinion, strengthened by the data in the report from the Center for Economic & Policy Research. The groups in favor of this measure have a petition launched on the White House website if you would like to lend your support to this cause.

 

The growth of jobs overall is obviously the much larger issue here, and it will be interesting to see how the government and the business community will address the labor force participation issue in the future. It is becoming increasingly clear that something has to be done to employ more people in the prime of their respective careers, the overall improvement of our economy depends upon it.

 

(Statistics, rankings, and some background information courtesy of the Congressional Budget Office, Office of Management & Budget, Center for Economic & Policy Research, The Fiscal Times, and Forbes.com )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by Frank Maduri

Critical Condition: Lake Mead At Drought Level – Follow Up

In a follow up to an earlier story I wrote on this issue, the news out West is rather daunting: Lake Mead is at the lowest water level since the Hoover Dam was finished and the Colorado River reservoir was established back in the 1930s.

 

This vital reservoir which provides water to about 40 million people in its service area, is according to the AP, currently 39 percent full and 1,082 feet above sea level. These figures are alarming, they are even lower than the data recorded in November 2010 during that terrible drought, which I covered in my earlier piece on this issue. Lake Mead is at the lowest point since 1937.

 

In contrast, Lake Powell is 52% full and through the process known as control management, which I detailed in my original article, the two lakes can have water shifted from one to the other to balance out any deficiencies in the water level. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is considering utilizing both control management and conservation protocols in order to address the plummeting water level in Lake Mead.

 

Multi-faceted Cause for Concern

 

The current state of Lake Mead leaves a multi-faceted cause for concern at this point because not only is Lake Mead a popular recreational area and attached to the Hoover Dam which is a huge tourist attraction; the lake is also the main source of water supply for Las Vegas and the millions of visitors that resort city attracts each year.

 

I detailed in my earlier piece that Las Vegas already has multiple conservation methods in place and is very environmentally conscious with their reuse of water and other natural resources. Any type of water supply delivery cuts would have a significant impact on Las Vegas and both the residential population as well as the tourism industry which is the backbone of the entire state of Nevada’s economy.

 

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation asserts that through the control management and other conservation methods they plan to employ, they should be able to stave off any water delivery cuts for a full year. The summer of 2015 though could be a very different scenario, and if these drought conditions continue, then delivery cuts to the water supply will have a detrimental impact on the Las Vegas area during the crucial summer vacation travel period.

 

In addition, a water supply cut during the summer months where the hottest temperatures will be experienced in the Lake Mead service area will create massive public health concerns.

 

Keeping Watch

 

The government entities involved will continue to monitor the water levels in Lake Mead and the other Colorado River based reservoirs to insure water supply deliveries are not altered in the coming weeks and months.

 

However, this drought raises concerns again over the demographic shifts in population growth to the American West, and whether the infrastructure can adequately sustain the new burdens placed on those systems.

 

This situation also raises more questions about climate change and the impact that it has had on the supply of water to the Colorado River, which then supplies Lake Mead and Lake Powell.

 

The unfortunate conclusion here is that this drought raises more questions that we do not have answers for at this point. It also points to the need for a longer term solution as these factors which drive the potential for water supply interruption are not going away any time soon.

 

(Statistics and some background information courtesy of AP )

 

 

by Frank Maduri

TV Wars: Aveo Loses Supreme Court Decision – Follow Up

In a follow up to a previous piece I did on this blog entitled “TV Wars”, the Supreme Court ruled today that the service known as Aveo should be required to pay licensing fees to broadcasters in order to display copyrighted programming. Aveo is a service that transmits broadcasts of TV programming over the Internet via their technology, which subscribers pay a fee to utilize.

 

The argument from Aveo’s side was that their service did not broadcast the programming to everyone over the Internet that the programming was provided only to their subscribers, who paid a fee to receive the service. Since it is not a public broadcast, then they should not be required to pay the licensing fee. The argument continued that they merely rented a small broadcast antenna to each of their subscribers to access the copyrighted programming, which should not require that they (Aveo) pay a licensing fee to the broadcasters.

 

The Supreme Court disagreed, they ruled that the Aveo service was just like a cable television service, which under the current system, are required to pay licensing fees to broadcasters in order to display copyrighted programming. Therefore, Aveo will be required to pay licensing fees to the broadcasters, which they cannot afford to do.

 

It is important to note that if the Court had ruled in favor of the current setup of Aveo, it would have completely altered the landscape of the television industry. A favorable ruling for Aveo would most definitely trigger the major cable television players to develop Internet based antenna rental services similar to Aveo in order to circumnavigate the payment of licensing fees.

 

A favorable ruling for Aveo also would have created a situation where the network television broadcasters would stand to lose huge amounts of licensing fee revenues. It would have created an environment where many people would continue to cancel their cable television plans, known as “cord cutting”, which would have created losses of revenue for the big cable television service providers such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable.

 

Status Quo

 

Instead, the ruling today effectively retains the current system and most likely marks the end of the Aveo service. Their CEO essentially stated that the ruling makes their business model unviable moving forward. The technology that Aveo developed does have an inherent value, which the ownership of Aveo will have to determine if they are going to sell off to an interested party in the future.

 

The ruling today by the highest court in the land also purposefully went out of the way to create a distinguishable difference between the Aveo service and other Internet based entertainment providing services and cloud based services. It is unclear at this point if they went far enough to make that differentiation and only future judiciary activity will determine that scenario.

 

This portion of the ruling opinion of the high court would deal with only certain new technologies and not others that I had mentioned in my original article on this topic. The larger internet based entertainment programming services providers such as Netflix and Amazon already pay huge licensing fees to the broadcasters and movie production companies to obtain the rights to stream copyrighted programming to their subscribers.

 

Big Business

 

In fact, the recent agreement between Amazon and HBO which provides the Amazon Direct internet streaming service with the exclusive rights to a huge catalog of HBO produced series was a deal with significant impact for everyone involved. Those types of exclusive streaming rights deals will only continue in the future, as the popularity of services such as Netflix, Amazon, and now Google’s Fire TV will continue to increase their respective subscriber bases.

 

These types of exclusive rights deals with the big internet streaming services provide a huge injection of revenue dollars to the broadcasters and the networks involved such as HBO or CBS. In fact, CBS syndicates and produces so many different series across a variety of networks that their stock increased on the news of the favorable Supreme Court ruling today.

 

In my view, that is what I take away from the decision today by the Supreme Court that the consumer in some ways is the loser here too. The Aveo service, as the dissenting opinion of the Court explained, was not providing a public display of content rather the service was provided to subscribers. Therefore, the three dissenting and more conservative justices felt that the subscription fee negated the need for Aveo to pay licensing fees to the broadcasters.

 

The Dissent

 

I would tend to agree with the dissenting opinion, the Aveo service was providing the consumer with another option to view broadcast television programming. It was providing choice and fostering competition in the Internet subscription based entertainment space. This decision is going to dismantle Aveo, and in many ways destroys the very ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit which America should espouse.

 

I think of all the time, money, and energy that the employees and developers at Aveo dedicated to designing and marketing their service, which is a unique technology, and I think the Court ruling sends the wrong message to the small business owner or the entrepreneur. This type of service should be promoted and not dismantled, other business owners could see this news today and decide not to move forward with a new product or an idea for a new service, and that can and will be detrimental to our collective best interest in American society.

 

However, it should also be noted that I am in no way in favor of a service that would infringe upon the copyright protections that these broadcasters and networks operate within. The networks and television broadcasting industry spends a significant amount of money on the production and the copyright legal protections for their programming. I am in no way promoting a service which would violate any copyrighted programming and broadcast these programs to a general public audience in violation of federal laws.

 

In relative terms, as a writer, if someone took my copyrighted written material and put it out into the general public in a way which misrepresented me and violated my rights that would be a huge issue. However, that was not the issue at hand here, because the subscription fee and the manner in which the programming was presented by Aveo with integrity made this case a difficult one for the judiciary system necessitating a ruling from the Supreme Court.

 

This decision effectively rewards the big broadcasting companies and eliminates a source of competition for the huge cable television operators. We should be fostering competition in the marketplace, yet between mergers and acquisitions and increased regulatory activity, the government is eliminating competition from our marketplace. This type of activity could prove ultimately detrimental, as we have seen in the course of history with monopolies in various industries in the past.

 

This ruling today is being reported by the media that it has moved the TV landscape into a state of clarity and removed some ambiguity. I disagree with that sentiment, I think the ruling today was only the beginning of another mountain of litigation driven by the broadcasters and networks and the groups which represent their collective interests with the goal of elimination of competition from the marketplace.

 

This ruling did not push our court system towards the end of the TV wars, in fact, I would argue, it is just the beginning.

 

 

(Some background information courtesy of Yahoo! News)