Twenty Questions for the Media Biz – Paul S. Maxwell

Comment : Welcome to a new year with a new Congress coupled with a whole lot of shakin' in the Federal Confusion Commission set to take some big steps in February … all of which raises some questions about what 2015 will bring.

1. Will Rupert Murdoch invite Roger Ailes and Charlie Ergen to dinner soon? That would be one way to get over their spat … but what would Rupert serve? Who gets the crow?

2. Will the FCC OK Title II - Lite? Probably. By 3 to 2, of course.

3. Will various Committees and Subcommittees in Congress go nuts? Mixed nuts?

4. Will Verizon sue?

5. Wouldn't it be better if Tom Wheeler had to arm-wrestle Michael Powell for the right to decide on Title II?

6. Would that make any difference?

7. Will Sling TV make it? Best question of the year in my book. Interesting limitations include no broadcast nets, no multiple set feed, "pay" programming sold separately and limited DVR functionality. But it has ESPN and ESPN2.

8. Will cord-cutting escalate in 2015?

9. Will the ratings for ESPN's National Collegiate Football Championship outscore this year's Super Bowl?

10. Why won't Sen. John Thune reintroduce "Local Choice"? Too timid?

11. Why did ad agencies in California rejoice after the holidays?

12. Will you buy a selfie stick?

13. Will Facebook's video challenge to YouTube result in a selfie channel?

14. Will the two big media mergers happen?

15. How long will it take Comcast (IF, of course) to replace all the Time Warner Cable set-top boxes? Or will Comcast just use a dongle and the cloud?

16. After DOCSIS 3.1 is deployed, how long before DOCSIS 4.0?

17. Will Ultra HD be a major factor in 2015?

18. Will the spectrum auctions actually happen?

19. Will Congress and the President actually agree on anything in 2015? Maybe on the March Madness bracket?

20. Will the NCTA come up with a better moniker than INTX? Let's start a contest … name the new media that encompasses all media! Be the first to create a new Bureau in the FCC!

"The Revolutionary Evolution of the Media"

A book in progress … how a changing world has made media what it is today …

Or, from a grunt to too much connectivity.

Read the latest chapter here. Or, start from the beginning here.

In an almost 50-year career writing and reporting on media, Paul S. Maxwell started and/or ran some 45-plus publications ranging from CATV Newsweekly to Colorado Magazine to CableVision to Multichannel News to CableFAX and The BRIDGE Suite of daily newsletters and research publications. In between publishing stints, Maxwell served as an advisor and/or consultant to a number of major media companies and media start-ups including running a unit of MCI and managing a partnership of TCI and McGraw-Hill.

Send any and all criticisms, suggestions, rants, threats, corrections, etc. to him at cablemax@mac.com. He has a new Web site coming soon!

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