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Independent Film & Television Alliance Bats For Independents Concerning Specialized & Wireless Broadband Services
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Jonathan Wolf (L), Jean Prewitt (M) & Lloyd Kaufman (R) |
Foremost in the minds of filmmakers and distributors in the film industry worldwide in the 21st century is how to utilize the vast resource of the internet that offers unprecedented revenue streams from its many platforms, and keep this vast untapped potential free from the controls of a select few.
In its capacity and on behalf of their worldwide membership many of whom are assembled in Santa Monica for the annual American Film Market 2010 (AFM), the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) has urged the Federal Communications Commission to keep an open and robust internet from turning into private controlled networks exempt from anticompetitive safeguards.
In its filing IFTA stated “For independent film and television producers, the Internet offers tremendous promise as a medium of distribution and a vehicle that may change the nature of the creative arts themselves. The only way to ensure that the promise is fulfilled is through access to an open and robust Internet with diverse sources of content and applications.”
IFTA further asserted that media consolidation – vertical integration of content suppliers and the distribution channels by which the public accesses content – has limited the opportunities for independent content on today’s existing broadcast and cable platforms, and that “the Internet must not become a similar, segregated marketplace.” If left unchecked, IFTA stated, “broadband providers will have (and act on) significant incentives to enhance their private networks with content from affiliated or exclusive suppliers to the detriment of non-managed networks in order to move the customers to private service offerings which generate higher returns. The transfer of resources and investment to specialized services will not only erode the value of public broadband Internet as an effective distribution platform, but could permanently close off these private networks for independent content.”
In its Comments filed in response to the FCC’s further Notice of Inquiry on Broadband Policy, IFTA reiterated how seriously it takes the issue of open access to new media platforms. IFTA has previously filed in response to the Commission’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding Preserving the Open Internet Broadband Industry Practices.
About The Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA)
Headquartered in Los Angeles, The Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) is the global trade association of the independent motion picture and television programming industry. The organization represents and provides significant entertainment industry services to more than 150 member companies from 23 countries.
Collectively, the Independent Film & Television Alliance’s members produce more than 400 independent films and countless hours of television programming each year and generate more than $4 billion in distribution revenues annually. The organization’s premiere event, the American Film Market, held in conjunction with AFI FEST, takes place every year in November in Santa Monica.
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