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Technology Stocks : IATV-ACTV Digital Convergence Software-HyperTV -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: opalapril who wrote (12277)	1/19/2001 3:47:45 PM
From: wlcnyc	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13157

"Will FCC hurt interactive TV stocks? By David B. Wilkerson, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 3:33 PM ET Jan 19, 2001 SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- The Federal Communication Commission is a long way from making any kind of final determination about regulation of interactive TV, but it's not too early to wonder what effect the agency's actions will have on interactive television stocks. The commission said on Thursday that it will launch an inquiry into regulation of the fledgling industry, prompted by concerns that arose during its deliberations on the AOL Time Warner deal. Some of the commissioners are concerned that interactive service providers that are affiliated with cable operators will be given an unfair advantage over non-affiliated providers. The inquiry won't be done quickly, which means that the commission won't come up with rules for the medium anytime soon. That delay might not be the best thing for companies like ACTV (IATV: news, msgs) , Wink Communications (WINK: news, msgs) , Gemstar-TV Guide (GMST: news, msgs) and many others who are salivating for the moment when interactive television becomes a pervasive reality. When interactive TV is in virtually every home, the t-commerce possibilities could be limitless. You will be able to order pizza, buy household appliances, jackets or just about anything else by touching a button on your remote control. Video-on-demand will combine with personal video recorder technology to allow you to bypass the local video store. But in the meantime, a digital standard hasn't been decided upon, and cable operators and advertisers -- no matter how big the potential prize -- aren't ready to commit themselves fully to interactive TV until they are sure the horizon is clear. "Regardless of what happens (at the FCC)," said Truc Do, analyst at Lazard Freres, "the economics have to work out for these guys (cable operators)," he said. "And I think the commission has probably learned from the past that these cable guys can just cut off spending and react in quite a negative way if regulation doesn't go in the right direction." Clifton Gray, analyst at Kaufman Bros., says that among the companies that may be impacted by a cloud of regulatory uncertainty are "the box guys," makers of the cable set-top boxes that are the conduit for every service cable provides. Motorola (MOT: news, msgs) and Scientific-Atlanta (SFA: news, msgs) are the leaders in this area. But Do and Gray both emphasize that it's too early to make predictions about what the FCC will do. And so far, the market doesn't seem concerned. Scientific-Atlanta, on the strength of a strong earnings report, added $1.81 to $57.44 in late afternoon trading on Wall Street. Motorola was better by $1.06 at $25. ACTV, Open TV (OPTV: news, msgs) , SeaChange International (SEAC: news, msgs) and Liberate Technologies (LBRT: news, msgs) were up by less than a dollar. Of the major players, only Gemstar-TV Guide was down, off $2.94 to $50. " www2.marketwatch.com