The FCC is in the process of reviewing multiple documents regarding whether or not to permit cable companies to encrypt their basic programming. Cable giants such as Comcast and Time Warner are lobbying for the FCC to change the policy since digital boxes could be serviced remotely, which they say would reduce costs.
Internet streaming set-top box companies such as Boxee, however, disagree. Avner Ronen, the company’s CEO, spoke with WebProNews and said consumers and competition would be hurt if the FCC removes the restriction.
He told us that, over the past year, the number of subscribers to cable companies is either flat or declining. As a result, he believes the companies are trying to boost their revenue by asking subscribers to pay a monthly rental fee for their set-top boxes.
Ronen also pointed out that cable companies are trying to block innovations like Boxee from competing in the market.
The FCC is currently weighing both sides of the dispute, but there is no word on when a decision could be reached.
Is Boxee right, or do you think the cable companies have a point? We’d love to know.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Feb 15th, 2012. 
Not surprisingly, many businesses use Google’s AdSense platform to make money. It has given many publishers a tried-and-true monetization model to fall back on, so they can focus on the editorial side of the business.
For Google AdSense users, does it meet your expectations? Let us know why or why not.
Although Google has been very successful with its AdSense platform, it is known for targeting, primarily, large publishers. For this reason, Lijit Networks is aiming to provide an alternative to AdSense and reach out, specifically, to mid-sized publishers.
The company has provided publishers with audience engagement and analytics tools since 2006, but it added a monetization feature earlier this year. Since Q4 2010, transactions on the advertising platform have grown 74 percent. Lijit also recently closed a $ 10 million round of financing in order to expand its platform and compete directly with Google.
Todd Vernon, the CEO and founder of Lijit, told us that publishers, especially in the mid-sized marketplace, tell them that Google isn’t performing to its users’ expectations.
“What we hear, time and time again, is, ‘when there’s something wrong, I can’t get a hold of Google… they only provide me error messages… I can’t actually talk to a human,’” he said.
Because Lijit is reaching out to a niche market, it believes it can take on the advertising giant.
“At the end of the day, they’re [Google] vulnerable in this area,” pointed out Vernon. “Google’s not known for customer service,” he added.
As for how Lijit plans to take on this endeavor, Vernon said, “We just want to have more relationships with more publishers in niche content areas that we know how to monetize that others probably won’t do as good a job with.”
Do you think Lijit can successfully take on Google?
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Filed under Internet Marketing by on May 8th, 2011.
