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102-421: While multichannel television initially served as a means to provide local television stations to customers who could not receive them over-the-air , the deployments of communications satellites made it financially feasible for broadcasters to distribute channels of national interest to cable, and later satellite television providers, such as superstations and premium television services. By 1980, 15 million of

204-762: A common carrier airing programming from those who paid. In 1992, nearly all MVPD customers had cable television service. In 1994, PrimeStar , DirecTV and USSB began offering digital satellite service. With one million subscribers in 18 months, digital direct broadcast satellite set a record for the quickest acceptance of a new technology; by comparison, it took four years before the VCR sold one million units. EchoStar and AlphaStar debuted in 1996. 2.2 million people subscribed to C-band service requiring 6-foot dishes costing as much as $ 1,500; this number remained steady, while digital satellite service with 18-inch dishes experienced phenomenal growth, reaching 4.5 million subscribers by

306-683: A proprietary set-top box provisioned by the MVPD. In 1998, the FCC ordered that a modular security component must be made available by July 1, 2000, and that cable providers must phase out the provision of hardware with integrated conditional access or security functions by January 1, 2005. An industry consortium known as CableLabs officially introduced a standard known as CableCARD in 2003 to comply with this mandate. These cards could be inserted into slots on devices such as televisions and digital video recorders to allow access to digital cable channels without

408-400: A smart card and would support two-way services delivered directly to devices. However, tru2way had limited to no consumer adoption; despite most major providers pledging to deploy it by mid-2009, Panasonic only sold compatible televisions in three Comcast test markets before discontinuing them in 2010 in favor of a set-back box . The integration ban was repealed in 2015 as a condition of

510-486: A television program made by a television station or independent television producer for broadcast only within the station's transmission area or television market . Local programmes can encompass the whole range of programme genres but will usually only cover subjects or people of particular interest to an audience within the station's coverage area. For example, a local sports programme will present results, interviews and coverage of games or matches, just like

612-414: A "charge" and "not merely a recurring gift to a charitable cause", and also singled out that the company had derived revenue double its operating expenses, and had stated that it planned to use its donations to cover expansion (which is not covered by the exemption in copyright law). Many cable channels charge providers fees in order to carry their content. The fee that the cable service provider must pay to

714-439: A 2.2 percent average ROA, while wholly owned and controlled affiliates in the U.S. only realized a 0.7 percent ROA." In European law , the term "joint venture" is an exclusive legal concept, better defined under the rules of company law . In France , the term "joint venture" is variously translated as "association d'entreprises", "entreprise conjointe", "coentreprise" or "entreprise commune". A JV can be brought about in

816-713: A JV aimed at defining standards or serving as an "industry utility" that provides a narrow set of services to industry participants. Some major joint ventures include United Launch Alliance , Vevo , Hulu , Virgin Media O2 , Penske Truck Leasing , and Owens-Corning . According to Gerard Baynham of Water Street Partners, there has been much negative press about joint ventures, but objective data indicate that they may actually outperform wholly owned and controlled affiliates . He writes, "A different narrative emerged from our recent analysis of U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) data, collected from more than 20,000 entities. According to

918-437: A cable operator, a multichannel multipoint distribution service , a direct broadcast satellite service, or a television receive-only satellite program distributor, who makes available for purchase, by subscribers or customers, multiple channels of video programming ", where a channel is defined as a "signaling path provided by a cable television system." Certain cable provider-owned regional sports networks worked around

1020-408: A cable television channel can vary depending on whether it is a basic or premium channel and the perceived popularity of that channel. As providers are not required to carry all channels, they may negotiate the fee they will pay for carriage of particular services. Typically, more popular channels command higher fees; for example, ESPN typically charges $ 10 per month for its suite of networks ($ 7 for

1122-423: A cable television system. In the early days of home satellite dishes, the two types of service were low-power C-band service with large dishes 8 to 12 feet wide, and high-power Ku-band . In 1979, COMSAT announced a plan to allow viewers to receive programming directly from broadcast satellites, a concept called direct-broadcast satellite (DBS). This system would cost "hundreds of millions of dollars" and, at

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1224-575: A cheaper rate, cable was too expensive to offer in rural areas. Also, cable was not yet available in larger cities such as Philadelphia and Chicago . USCI president Nathaniel Kwit stated that 30 million people would never be served by cable companies, and DBS would have 5 million subscribers by 1990. One prediction for USCI was for 2.4 million customers by 1986. With little success in Indiana, USCI began looking to Washington, D.C. , Baltimore and Philadelphia. Early in 1984, USCI expanded into 15 markets in

1326-526: A company. By its formation, the JV becomes a new entity with the implications that: On the receipt of the Certificate of Incorporation, a company can commence its business. This is a legal area and is fraught with difficulty as the laws of countries differ, particularly on the enforceability of "heads of" or shareholder agreements. For some legal reasons, it may be called a Memorandum of Understanding . It

1428-527: A default schedule for distribution), the vast majority of broadcast stations do provide program listings. Misplaced Pages itself also uses this designation in its series of American network television schedule articles for non-network programming time. Many local television stations in the United Kingdom ceased broadcasting due to a lack of viability, but some stations are still being broadcast, including: Joint venture A joint venture ( JV )

1530-468: A lack of demand for the CableCARDs (a factor induced by the cost of devices which supported them), as well as its limitations on two-way services—especially due to the growing video on-demand market, and switched video —a technique that enabled an increase in capacity for high-definition channels. In 2008, the industry attempted to adopt a middleware standard known as tru2way , which did not require

1632-404: A locally produced segment. Sometimes locally made programmes that are not too specific to the transmission area, will be sold to other local stations for broadcast in their region. Historically there was a large percentage of local programming on television. Late in the 20th century this has significantly fallen. In many cases the only local programmes on a television station today will be

1734-441: A mixture of sources, such as terrestrial television and internet streaming services, as an alternative. The multichannel television industry began to employ efforts to entice potential cord cutters, such as " TV Everywhere "—a concept which allows subscribers to participating television channels to access their on-demand and live programming through websites and mobile apps tied to a user account. In 2015, Dish Network announced

1836-462: A network sports programme, but it would only feature teams and players from within the broadcaster's transmission area. In some cases a television network programme may include a local element as well. This is particularly the case in the United Kingdom and still happens today with Politics Show . The BBC regions will all opt-out at the same time from the main programme to present

1938-496: A principal disadvantage is absence of an interested and influential Chinese party. As of the 3rd Quarter of 2004, WFOEs had replaced EJVs and CJVs as follows: (*)=Financial Vventures by EJVs/CJVs (**)=Approved JVs These enterprises are formed under the Sino-Foreign Investment Act. The capital is composed of value of stock in exchange for the value of the property given to the enterprise. The liability of

2040-490: A rate 50% higher than the Consumer Price Index . By 2012, satellite dishes accounted for 30% of the pay television market. In 2005, Verizon Communications launched FiOS , a new suite of television, internet, and phone services delivered over a fiber-optic infrastructure. In 2006, AT&T followed suit with the introduction of U-verse . The subscription television market in the U.S. began to erode in

2142-399: A satellite provider, was faced with multiple carriage disputes over the changes. In 2009, C-SPAN was pulled only 2 days after it was added, with the network citing contractual issues which prevented Sky Angel from streaming the channel. Sky Angel filed antitrust lawsuits against C-SPAN in 2012 and 2013, claiming that its ownership group (which is composed of competing television providers)

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2244-526: A service known as Sling TV , a streaming , multichannel video service (virtual MVPD or vMVPD) offering a focused selection of popular cable networks, delivered via apps for mobile devices and other digital media players over the internet. By 2018, the service had reached 2 million subscribers, and prompted the launch of competitors from AT&T ( DirecTV Now , which had reached 1 million), Hulu , Sony ( PlayStation Vue ) and YouTube TV . By 2019 Q3, analysts estimated vMVPDs have nearly 9 million subscribers in

2346-441: A set-top box. CableCARDs were cheaper to rent than a cable box, but the first version of the standard did not support two-way communications for interactive services such as video on-demand or pay-per-view facilities, thus giving the system a disadvantage over cable boxes. The integration ban was delayed until (and officially took effect on) July 1, 2007. The cable industry lobbied for the ban to be delayed, citing factors such as

2448-450: A significant number of production centres which create and air their own local morning and/or afternoon talk shows, while Radio 2's and Ici Musique's local content is limited to local news and weather updates. The term is also generally accepted to refer to television programming that is not produced by a broadcast or other media source for national or international distribution ( broadcast syndication ). Usually programming of local interest

2550-635: A significant volume of local programming, including newscasts, locally or regionally oriented talk shows, and variety entertainment programs such as Tiny Talent Time or Homegrown Cafe ; a few stations, such as CHCH-TV in Hamilton , Ontario and CJOH in Ottawa , also distributed some of their local programming more widely through television syndication , most notably CHCH's Hilarious House of Frightenstein and CJOH's You Can't Do That on Television , both of which were broadcast across both Canada and

2652-417: A significantly higher amount of money and began looking at possible mergers. The company could not afford to expand and it had been unable to strike deals with other companies, so its service ended without warning on April 1, 1985. USCI filed for bankruptcy, and one company offered to convert USCI dishes to C-band. People were allowed to keep their dishes; half had bought them and half had leased them, however it

2754-497: A vMVPD. Only 6 percent of those over 45 used a vMVPD. The introduction of ATSC 3.0 broadcasting in the 2020s led to trials of vMVPDs carried via OTA signals; startup company Edge Networks began operating a multichannel service known as Evoca in markets such as Boise, Denver, and Portland, which utilized set-top boxes that aggregated internet-delivered channels with channels delivered via encrypted signals on ATSC 3.0 stations (including offers to bundle other services such as Sling TV on

2856-487: Is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership , shared returns and risks , and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to access a new market, particularly emerging market ; to gain scale efficiencies by combining assets and operations; to share risk for major investments or projects; or to access skills and capabilities. Most joint ventures are incorporated, although some, as in

2958-404: Is allowed to enter into contracts with appropriate government authorities to acquire land use rights, rent buildings, and receive utility services. In this it is more similar to a CJV than an EJV. WFOEs are expected by PRC to use the most modern technologies and to export at least 50% of their production, with all of the investment is to be wholly provided by the foreign investor and the enterprise

3060-604: Is described below. The EJV Law is between a Chinese partner and a foreign company. It is incorporated in both Chinese (official) and in English (with equal validity), with limited liability. Prior to China's entry into WTO – and thus the WFOEs – EJVs predominated. In the EJV mode, the partners share profits, losses, and risk in equal proportion to their respective contributions to the venture's registered capital. These escalate upwardly in

3162-470: Is done in parallel with other activities in forming a JV. Though dealt with briefly for a shareholders' agreement , some issues must be dealt with here as a preamble to the discussion that follows. There are also many issues which are not in the Articles when a company starts up or never ever present. Also, a JV may elect to stay as a JV alone in a "quasi partnership" to avoid any nonessential disclosure to

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3264-589: Is produced by either a Public, educational, and government access (PEG) television organization, cable TV operator or broadcast network affiliate stations that offer local radio news and television news . Additionally, the term is used in a more generic form in the United States, Canada , Mexico and other countries in the Western Hemisphere as a placeholder term within published national program guide listings in publications such as

3366-470: Is what will happen if the firm is dissolved, if one of the partners dies, or if the firm is sold. Often, the most successful JVs are those with 50:50 partnership with each party having the same number of directors but rotating control over the firm, or rights to appoint the Chairperson and Vice-chair of the company. Sometimes a party may give a separate trusted person to vote in its place proxy vote of

3468-515: Is within his total control. WFOEs are typically limited liability enterprises. Like with EJVs, but the liability of the directors, managers, advisers, and suppliers depends on the rules which govern the Departments or Ministries which control product liability, worker safety or environmental protection. An advantage the WFOE enjoys over its alternates is enhanced protection of its know-how but

3570-515: The Northeast and Midwest . At first, USCI leased its equipment because people might be reluctant to buy an unproven technology, but the company later sold its dishes. COMSAT planned to compete with USCI, offering lower prices, but lost its backing from CBS in June 1984. Of the eight original companies planning DBS service, none had a working system by the start of 1985. The expected cost of entering

3672-509: The STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014 . In 2010, the FCC issued a notice of inquiry proposing a concept known as AllVid , which involved the introduction of "adapters" that would abstract television services from the devices which deliver them, allowing the development of devices that could converge subscription television with internet video . The FCC stated that it was "not convinced that the tru2way solution will assure

3774-468: The United States . With the cross-national consolidation of Canadian media ownership in the 1990s and 2000s, network-affiliated stations now rarely produce much more than their own local or regional newscasts, although some stations may continue to produce a small amount of additional local programming. Independent stations may produce more local programming, although such stations are now rare in

3876-486: The World Trade Organization (WTO) around 2001 has had profound effects on foreign investment. Not being a JV, they are considered here only in comparison or contrast. To implement WTO commitments, China publishes from time to time updated versions of its "Catalogs Investments" (affecting ventures) prohibited, restricted. The WFOE is a Chinese legal person and has to obey all Chinese laws. As such, it

3978-466: The local newscast . The above can also apply to radio . A national radio network may have local studios or affiliates who opt-out at various times to present local programs and content. In the late-1950s, many of the early Australian television series such as Melbourne Magazine (1957), Sydney Tonight (1956–1959), and TV Talent Scout (1957–1958) were broadcast in only a single city. In Canada, historically local television stations produced

4080-464: The oil and gas industry , are "unincorporated" joint ventures that mimic a corporate entity. With individuals, when two or more persons come together to form a temporary partnership for the purpose of carrying out a particular project, such partnership can also be called a joint venture where the parties are " co-venturers ". The venture can be a business JV (for example, Dow Corning), a project/asset JV intended to pursue one specific project only, or

4182-420: The "actual and reasonable costs" of providing the relay. Locast was a free service, but periodically interrupted programming to solicit for donations until one was made. In September 2021, the service shut down after U.S District Court Judge Louis Stanton denied a request by Locast for a summary judgment in a similar lawsuit brought upon by the networks. Stanton described Locast's periodic interruptions as being

Multichannel television in the United States - Misplaced Pages Continue

4284-450: The "constitution" of a company in these countries. The articles of association regulate the interaction between shareholders and the directors of a company and can be a lengthy document of up to 700,000 or so pages. It deals with the powers relegated by the stockholders to the directors and those withheld by them, requiring the passing of ordinary resolutions , special resolutions and the holding of Extraordinary General Meetings to bring

4386-554: The 2010s due to multiple factors. Some have cited higher costs due to deregulation of cable television and tied selling practices (which force subscribers to pay monthly for a large bundle of unwanted channels to receive a few desired programs). Over-the-top video on demand services, such as Netflix , have also appealed to changing viewing habits, such as the growth of mobile device usage for media consumption . The market trend of cord cutters has seen viewers cutting back or dropping their television subscriptions in favor of using

4488-603: The Cable Act, enacted further policies for the regulation of cable systems. The act established standards for the operational standards and development of cable systems, and gave municipalities the authority to grant and renew cable system franchises based on compliance with them and stated plans for future development. It stated that cable systems should reflect the needs of local communities in order to provide "the widest possible diversity of information sources and services". It recommended that local and state authorities encourage

4590-718: The Canadian media landscape. In radio, virtually all Canadian commercial radio stations are officially programmed locally, although many stations cut costs by contracting some dayparts out to voice-tracked hosts who are not actually located in the station's physical studio or even necessarily in the same city, using a home studio , and may even be performing their show from the United States. The CBC Radio One , CBC Radio 2 , Ici Radio-Canada Première and Ici Musique networks consist primarily of networked national programming, although all include some degree of local programming in certain time blocks. Radio One and Première stations have

4692-459: The DOC data, foreign joint ventures of U.S. companies realized a 5.5 percent average return on assets (ROA), while those companies' wholly owned and controlled affiliates (the vast majority of which are wholly owned) realized a slightly lower 5.2 percent ROA. The same story holds true for investments by foreign companies in the U.S., but the difference is more pronounced. U.S.-based joint ventures realized

4794-434: The FCC in the same way as traditional television providers. A key sticking point is the established standard in case law, that a television provider must control the entire infrastructure used to distribute their channels in order to be classified as a multichannel video programming distributor (which does not take into account the public internet). Sky Angel , a Christian over-the-top IPTV service which formerly operated as

4896-547: The FCC's items on circulation. In 2020, the FCC withdrew the requirement for television providers to specifically support CableCARD, citing changes in the industry and a lack of consumer interest. The FCC still mandates that MVPDs must still offer "separable security". The increasing prominence of linear IPTV services delivered entirely over the public internet (also referred to as an "over-the-top" television service , "linear online video provider" (OVD), or "virtual MVPD") has led to questions over whether they can be regulated by

4998-640: The Founder at board meetings. Recently, in a major case the Indian Supreme Court has held that Memorandums of Understanding (whose details are not in the articles of association) are "unconstitutional" giving more transparency to undertakings. A JV is not a permanent structure. It can be dissolved when: Joint ventures are risky forms of business partnerships . Literature in business and management has paid attention to different factors of conflict and opportunism in joint ventures, in particular

5100-464: The JV's life, giving the option to the foreign investor, by holding higher equity, obtains a faster rate of return with the concurrent wish of the Chinese partner of a later larger role of maintaining long-term control. The parties in any of the ventures, EJV, CJV or WFOE prepare a feasibility study outlined above. It is a non-binding document – the parties are still free to choose not to proceed with

5202-554: The U.S. government passed the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act , which requires that televisions and MVPD set-top boxes be accessible to those who are blind and visually impaired, including support for audio description . In 2016, the FCC, under chairman Tom Wheeler , voted 3-2 to authorize a notice of proposed rulemaking proposing that MVPDs be required to make their programming and other related data "be available to

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5304-536: The US) covering know-how and trademarks and supply-of-equipment agreements. The minimum equity is prescribed for investment truncated, where the foreign equity and debt levels are: There are also intermediary levels. The foreign investment in the total project must be at least 25%. No minimum investment is set for the Chinese partner. The timing of investments must be mentioned in the Agreement and failure to invest in

5406-477: The United Kingdom, USCI also maintained its own in-house channels: these included two premium channels – USCI Movietime (focusing entirely on feature films) and USCI Showcase (which offered a mix of films and specials similar to the formats of HBO and Showtime) – USCI TV Time (which featured a mix of children's and cultural programs, classic television series and movies) and Video Music (a music video channel similar to MTV ). While cable could provide more channels at

5508-422: The United States. Comcast introduced a streaming television service as a lower-cost alternative to their main service, delivered through managed networks as part of their internet services. Similarly, Time Warner Cable trialled the use of Roku devices as a set-top box in 2015. In October 2015, TWC began to trial a service under which subscribers are given a Roku 3 digital media player to access their service via

5610-443: The approximately 80 million television-owning households in the U.S. subscribed to a multichannel television service. In the 1990s, digital multichannel services, such as direct-broadcast satellite and digital cable , experienced a surge in popularity due to their increased channel capacity. As of 2017, approximately 79% of U.S. TV households had a television subscription; the market share of multichannel television began to erode in

5712-417: The capability to serve 52 percent of people in the United States but after a year, USCI had only 11,000 customers. USCI's inability to get channels such as CNN , along with a monthly cost of at least $ 24.95, in addition to the $ 400 to $ 700 for the receiver needed to pick up a still-weak signal, kept the numbers low. Another problem was that HBO and other channels used C-band while USCI was Ku-band. USCI needed

5814-461: The cases, the status of the formed enterprise is that of a legal Chinese person which can hire labor directly as, for example, a Chinese national contactor. The minimum of the capital is registered at various levels of investment. Other differences from the EJV are to be noted: Convenience and flexibility are the characteristics of this type of investment. It is therefore easier to find co-operative partners and to reach an agreement. With changes in

5916-682: The creators of competitive solutions using any published, transparent format that conforms to specifications set by an independent, open standards body." The cable industry opposed this proposal, due to the lack of control they would have on the user experience (citing the possibility that third-party developers could inject their own advertising into the interface, even though the proposal specified that there would be regulations against this). They instead proposed an industry commitment for television providers with more than 1 million subscribers to develop apps to access their services on major connected devices, using HTML5 standards. Public Knowledge questioned

6018-622: The death of Mao Zedong in 1976, initiatives in foreign trade began to be applied, and law applicable to foreign direct investment was made clear in 1979, while the first Sino-foreign equity venture took place in 2001. The corpus of the law has improved since then. Companies with foreign partners can carry out manufacturing and sales operations in China and can sell through their own sales network. Foreign-Sino companies have export rights which are not available to wholly Chinese companies, as China desires to import foreign technology by encouraging JVs and

6120-551: The development of a commercial retail market as directed by Congress." Despite support by major firms such as Sony and Google (the latter having recently launched a digital media player platform known as Google TV ), AllVid was widely-opposed by the multichannel industry, as well as the Motion Picture Association of America (who argued that copyright infringing media sources could be presented alongside legitimate options in search interfaces). Also in 2010,

6222-503: The directors' decision to bear. A Certificate of Incorporation or the Articles of Incorporation is a document required to form a corporation in the U.S. (in actuality, the state where it is incorporated) and in countries following the practice. In the US, the "constitution" is a single document. The Articles of Incorporation is again a regulation of the directors by the stock-holders in

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6324-571: The end of 1996, up by about two million subscribers in a year. Cable television services had 65 million subscribers, but were already starting to see customers switch to satellite. Satellite television offered more channels than cable did at the time due to limited headend capacity, although broadcast networks were not allowed if their affiliates could be received with an antenna. DirecTV and USSB had 2.5 million subscribers, while PrimeStar, with 27-inch dishes that could be rented rather than purchased, had 1.6 million subscribers. Cable companies responded to

6426-545: The establishment of Public, educational, and government access networks. The act also prevented the FCC and states from regulating the cost of cable service if they had " effective competition " from a large number of unique broadcast services (however, all existing cable systems qualified under this criterion, which allowed them to raise their prices). In 1992, Congress passed the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act that

6528-538: The establishment of blanket licenses for streaming broadcast television stations over the internet, thus the Copyright Office ruled that this was outside of its scope. In 2019, a similar service emerged known as Locast . Unlike Aereo, it was run by a non-profit advocacy group rather than a commercial entity, and asserts itself as being a non-profit broadcast relay station (which are exempted under U.S. copyright law) that collected donations from users to cover

6630-775: The first DBS service, with 50 customers paying $ 39.95 a month for five channels in the Indianapolis , Indiana area, was launched by United Satellite Communications Inc. (USCI), a joint venture of Prudential Insurance , General Instrument and investors that included Francesco Galesi. USCI did not wait for more powerful satellite technology, but instead used the Canadian Anik C2 . The company also signed an agreement with ESPN and made programming arrangements with distributors rather than existing cable channels. Similar to British Sky Broadcasting (and its predecessors Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting ) in

6732-471: The following major ways: In the UK , India , and in many common law countries, a joint-venture (or else a company formed by a group of individuals) must file its memorandum of association with the appropriate authority. This is a statutory document which informs the public of its existence. It may be viewed by the public at the office in which it is filed. Together with the articles of association , it forms

6834-423: The government or the public. Some of the issues in a shareholders' agreement are: There are many features which have to be incorporated into the shareholders' agreement which is quite private to the parties as they start off. Normally, it requires noтуОЧ submission to any authority. The other basic document which must be articulated is the Articles, which is a published document and known to members. This repeats

6936-567: The indicated time, draws a penalty. Co-operative Joint Ventures (CJVs) are permitted under the Sino-Foreign Co-operative Joint Ventures. Co-operative enterprises are also called Contractual Operative Enterprises. The CJVs may have a limited structure or unlimited – therefore, there are two versions. The limited-liability version is similar to the EJVs in status of permissions – the foreign investor provides

7038-539: The influence of parent control structure, ownership change, and volatile environment. Government procurement regulations, such as the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) in the United States, may specify how joint ventures are to be approached as suppliers or confirm that a joint venture or other form of contractor partnering is seen as a "desirable" arrangement for supplying to government. The FAR states that The Government will recognize

7140-405: The integrity and validity of contractor team arrangements [including joint ventures], provided the arrangements are identified and company relationships are fully disclosed in an offer or, for arrangements entered into after submission of an offer, before the arrangement becomes effective. The Government will not normally require or encourage the dissolution of contractor team arrangements. Under

7242-719: The latest technologies. Under Chinese law, foreign enterprises are divided into several basic categories. Of these, five will be described or mentioned here: three relate to industry and services and two as vehicles for foreign investment. Those five categories of Chinese foreign enterprises are: the Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Ventures (EJVs), Sino-Foreign Co-operative Joint Ventures (CJVs), Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises (WFOE), although they do not strictly belong to Joint Ventures, plus foreign investment companies limited by shares (FICLBS), and Investment Companies through Foreign Investors (ICFI). Each category

7344-864: The launched of prominent services intended for distribution by cable systems, such as HBO and fledgling Atlanta -based superstation WTCG . By 1980, 15 million of the 75–80 million U.S. homes with at least one television set had a cable television subscription, and one prediction was for that number to double by 1985. By 1981, eleven communications satellites were in use, and the Federal Communications Commission planned 24 to be in use by 1985. Most cable channels wanted space on Satcom I, since cable companies had receiving dishes aiming in that direction. In November 1981, Satcom III-R replaced Satcom I, which changed to voice and data distribution. Some areas were too remote for cable or even any over-the-air reception, and other areas did not have

7446-480: The law, it becomes possible to merge with a Chinese company for a quick start. A foreign investor does not need to set up a new corporation in China. Instead, the investor uses the Chinese partner's business license, under a contractual arrangement. However, under the CJV, the land stays in the possession of the Chinese partner. There is another advantage: the percentage of the CJV owned by each partner can change throughout

7548-490: The main channel alone), by far the highest of any non-premium American cable channel, comparable to the premium channels, and rising rapidly. ESPN and other regional sports networks , as well as retransmission consent negotiations by broadcast television outlets, have frequently been cited as contributing to the increasing cost of television subscriptions. Local television The terms local programme , local programming , local content or local television refers to

7650-402: The majority of funds and technology and the Chinese party provides land, buildings, equipment, etc. However, there are no minimum limits on the foreign partner which allows him to be a minority shareholder. The other format of the CJV is similar to a partnership where the parties jointly incur unlimited liability for the debts of the enterprise with no separate legal person being created. In both

7752-403: The market ranged from $ 200 to $ 500 million, with $ 100 million required to put a satellite in orbit. Only Direct Broadcast Satellite Corp., United States Satellite Broadcasting and Dominion Satellite Network still had plans to go ahead, while RCA was looking at changes in its system. Even USCI, which used a Canadian satellite that did not require FCC approval to use, was in trouble. The company had

7854-616: The marketability of their services in San Diego , by not allowing them to carry the Cox-owned 4SD —the local rightsholder of San Diego Padres baseball. Under the Telecommunications Act of 1996 , the FCC was instructed to develop a means for television providers to offer a standalone conditional access module for digital cable services, in order to allow third-party devices to access the services as an alternative to

7956-407: The mid-2010s due to the increasing popularity of subscription-based online video services, the increasing costs of these services due to the carriage fees demanded by major channels, as well as consumers intentionally dropping traditional television service in favor of alternatives such as subscription video on demand (SVOD) services, and linear television services that are delivered entirely over

8058-544: The post-2006 format TV Guide or USA Today which only carry the default schedules of national networks, where the "local programming" designation replaces detailed listings for a local station that would be impossible to print in a national publication. Outside of local newscasts and some rare non-news programming however, the term merely describes time periods under a local station's control, where syndicated content airs rather than true local programming. For equivalent electronic program guide listings for set-top boxes ,

8160-474: The program access rules and other relevant laws, but the Media Bureau did open a discussion on whether an OVD could qualify as an MVPD. Members of the cable industry supported this historic interpretation of the law, while it was also argued that classifying streaming services as MVPDs would increase regulatory burden and discourage innovation by digital services. Another prominent case was that of Aereo ;

8262-415: The program access rules by deliberately excluding satellites from their distribution path. This allowed them to restrict the carriage of these lucrative networks by competing providers, thus providing a selling point for their service. In 2010, the FCC removed this particular exception to the program access rules. The action was based on a complaint by AT&T that Cox Communications was unduly affecting

8364-474: The project. The feasibility study must cover the fundamental technical and commercial aspects of the project, before the parties can proceed to formalize the necessary legal documentation. The study should contain details referred to earlier under Feasibility Study (submissions by the Chinese partner). There is basic law of the PRC concerning enterprises with sole foreign investment controls, WFOEs. China's entry into

8466-498: The proposal, arguing that the provision of the apps and "whether consumers would need a broadband connection to access video programming instead of leveraging their existing pay TV connections" were unclear, and that it "does not allow for many features that consumers want, such as home recording, and it does not allow for true user interface competition." In January 2017, new Trump administration FCC commissioner Ajit Pai (who voted against it) removed Wheeler's set-top box proposal from

8568-742: The public internet, or never subscribing to such a service at all. By 2023, the number of households with a subscription was down to 47 percent, or 62 percent if streaming services were included. John Walson of Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania was credited with having established the first cable television service in the U.S. in 1948. He created the service in order to improve the availability of television stations to those with poor reception due to tall mountains and buildings. The launch of communications satellites, such as Satcom I , enabled broadcasters to send out their programming nationally for hundreds of dollars per hour rather than costlier telephone lines and microwave relay systems. This development spurred

8670-549: The rules applicable to public procurement in the European Union , public bodies may insist that suppliers intending to provide goods and services through a joint partnership accept joint liability for the execution of the contract. According to a 2003 report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development , China was the recipient of US$ 53.5 billion in direct foreign investment, making it

8772-455: The same boxes). The company closed in 2022, citing a lack of growth and "coordinated refusal" from the major networks to license content to the venture. In 1972, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established basic regulations for cable providers, including franchise and technical standards, and requiring them to register for a certificate of compliance before operation. The Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 , otherwise known as

8874-440: The same proportion as the increase in registered capital. The JV contract accompanied by the articles of association for the EJV are the two most fundamental legal documents of the project. The Articles mirror many of the provisions of the JV contract. In case of conflict the JV document has precedence. These documents are prepared at the same time as the feasibility report. There are also the ancillary documents (termed "offsets" in

8976-553: The service allowed users to rent an antenna from a centralized location, and stream feeds of local broadcast television channels received via the antenna. By doing so, Aereo argued that its service was a placeshifting solution that rented access to hardware, and thus did not require permission from broadcasters to retransmit their programming. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in American Broadcasting Cos. v. Aereo, Inc. that this violated copyright law, as

9078-435: The shareholders agreement as to the number of directors each founder can appoint to the board of directors; whether the board controls or the founders; the taking of decisions by simple majority (50%+1) of those present or a 51% or 75% majority with all directors present (their alternates/ proxy ); the deployment of funds of the firm; extent of debt; the proportion of profit that can be declared as dividends; etc. Also significant

9180-410: The sheer number of options. A 2019 Leichtman Research Group study involving 6,715 households showed that 43 percent of vMVPD subscribers changed from a traditional MVPD. 17 percent dropped their previous vMVPD for another one, 25 percent also had a linear service, and 15 percent had never used a traditional MVPD. 71 percent of vMVPD users, the study said, were in the 18-44 group, in which 16 percent used

9282-498: The standard required for prohibiting rate regulation, requiring the provider to serve less than 30% of their franchise area, or two unaffiliated providers, serving at least 50% of the area, serve at least 15% of the market. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 amended Section 602 (13) of the Communications Act of 1934 to define a "Multichannel video programming distributor" (MVPD) as "a person such as, but not limited to,

9384-478: The streams still constituted an unauthorized public performance, and that despite claims to the contrary, its business model was substantially similar to that of a cable television provider (but the Court did not go as far as claiming Aereo was an MVPD). The company attempted to use this ruling in an effort to apply for a compulsory license from the U.S. Copyright Office instead. However, international treaties forbid

9486-613: The success of satellite by adopting digital cable services that offered more channels, and required the use of digital set-top boxes. They also owned a share of PrimeStar, because offering cable in rural areas was deemed to be too expensive. In 1996, the FCC said local zoning laws could not prevent most smaller dishes. Another advancement in satellite TV came with the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999 (SHVIA), which allowed local channels to be included in satellite TV packages. Previously, this

9588-461: The supplied TWC app, rather than a traditional set-top box. A TWC spokesperson emphasized that this offering would provide "the same TV and same packages delivered to the home today", but delivered over TWC-managed internet rather than a cable line. With the mass proliferation of over-the-top subscription services intending to compete with legacy players, analysts have argued that the market is becoming too fragmented, and giving consumers "fatigue" over

9690-483: The term is used mainly with PEG stations and networks which do not have a schedule compiled by a cable operator as a default placeholder; other instances are with only broadcast stations who outright refuse or do not release their program listings due to lack of staff, though as advertisers usually demand a minimum schedule to place their ads on a television station (and most of these stations are associated with smaller national digital subchannel networks which do provide

9792-448: The time, was expected to be ready by the 1990s. Later, the company changed its target date to 1986. By 1983, the FCC had authorized several other companies to offer DBS service. These included CBS , RCA and Western Union , as well as Rupert Murdoch -led Skyband. Unlike the larger television receive-only dishes, DBS used higher-powered satellites with smaller, more affordable dishes that were two to three feet wide. On November 16, 1983,

9894-426: The world's largest recipient of direct foreign investment for the first time, to exceed the US. Also, it approved the establishment of nearly 500,000 foreign-investment enterprises. The US had 45,000 projects by 2004 with an in-place investment of over 48 billion. Until recently, no guidelines existed on how foreign investment was to be handled due to the restrictive nature of China toward foreign investors. Following

9996-547: Was colluding against Sky Angel to protect their business, and pointed out that C-SPAN already streamed its programming online for free. The suits were dismissed for presenting insufficient evidence of antitrust violations. In 2010, Discovery Communications also pulled its networks from Sky Angel, prompting the provider to file a formal complaint under the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act. Sky Angel argued that Discovery

10098-588: Was designed to promote competition and consumer protection in the cable television industry. The act mandated that cable providers carry all local full-power or otherwise qualified broadcast television stations on their service. However, commercial stations have the option to opt-out of must-carry, and require financial compensation for their carriage instead. It also required cable networks operated by cable companies to offer their carriage to competing satellite providers at reasonable rates if they used satellites as part of their distribution path. The act also narrowed

10200-406: Was discriminating against its service, because it had allowed other providers to stream its programming online through other manners (such as TV Everywhere services). The FCC denied the complaint, but its Media Bureau acknowledged that OVDs did not formally fall under the definition of an MVPD because they did not control a physical transmission path. Sky Angel was thus ineligible for protections under

10302-464: Was only possible if an area had no local broadcast network affiliates. A January 8, 2001 report commissioned by the FCC stated that in the year ending June 2000, the number of satellite subscribers had increased from 10.1 million to 13 million people, an increase three times that of cable. Satellite represented 15.4 percent of those paying for television service, while the percentage of those who had cable dropped from 82% to 80%. Cable charges increased at

10404-660: Was unclear who if anyone would provide the service. In October 1984, the U.S. Congress passed the Cable Communications Act of 1984 , which gave those using dishes the right to see signals for free unless they were scrambled, and required those who did scramble to make their signals available for a fee. Since cable channels could prevent reception by big dishes, other companies had an incentive to offer competition. Dominion planned inspirational programming, USSB intended to sell dishes with three channels of free programming, and Direct Broadcast Satellite Corp. would be

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