memorial service, a service to celebrate and a service to commemorate the life and the legacy of the honorable donald m. payne, we are grateful that you blessed us with such a super life. as we gather in this sacred hall today, populated by those who have shown courage and greatness for our nation, it is very befitting that we are here to celebrate this great man. one who chose power over pain, one who chose courage and dignity over fear, one who chose

faith in the face of doubt, one who chose peace instead of war, one who brought knowledge where there was no knowledge, and one who brought light where there was darkness. and all of us stand today in solidarity to simply say thank you for blessing us with such a great life. and now in the words of that old baptist preacher, we're not sure what state he was from. his eyesight was dim. his hair was gray. his back was bent over, but at the close of his service, he lifted his hand above the heads of his parishioners and he said these words, "my hands on the

plow, my faltering hands, and all that is before us now is untilled land, the desert in the solitary places within space, and sometimes the handles of our plow with tears get wet, and yet and yet we do not believe that you brought our great nation this far to leave us now, and we welcome and we thank you for the life, the contribution, and all that this great man has done for his spirit and his life will live on in the hearts of those that he touched around this nation and throughout the world. it is in your name this we humbly submit and say thank you. amen. >> amen. >> ladies and gentlemen, this

concludes our memorial service. i want to thank all of you for joining us. i know don's family will be receiving guests in the rayburn room. and may god bless his soul. i seem to have earned a certain place where people will listen to me, and i've always cared about the country. and the greatest generation writing that book gave me a kind of a platform that was completely unanticipated. so i thought i ought not to squander that. so i out to step up as not just as a citizen and as a journalist, but as a father and a husband and a grandfather. and if i see these things, i ought to write about them and try to start this dialogue, which is what i'm trying to do with this book about where we need to get to next. >> in his latest, "the time of

our lives," tom brokaw urges americans to redefine the american dream. and sunday, may 6th, your questions for the former anchor and managing editor of "nbc nightly news." in his half dozen books he has written about the greatest generation, the 1960s, and today in-depth, sunday may 6th, live at noon eastern on c-span 2s book tv. where is the national public radio table? you guys are still here? [ laughter ] that's good. i couldn't remember where we landed on that. >> this weekend on c-span, the 98th annual white house correspondents dinner. president obama and late night talk show host jimmy kimmel headline the event before an audience of celebrities, journalists, and the white house press core. coverage starts with the red carpet arrivals live at 6:30. and watch the entire dinner, only on c-span. you can also sync up your

experience online at c-span's dinner hub. find the celebrity guest list, highlights of past dinners, plus blog and social media posts at c-span.org/whcd. the white house correspondent's dinner live p.m. eastern on c-span. with an increasing number of people accessing video content online and on a myriad of mobile devices, the senate commerce committee on tuesday looked at what the changes mean for consumers, for technology, and for the price of access. witnesses include the former ceo of paramount and fox as well as executives from amazon.com, microsoft, and the nielsen company. this is two hours. >> good morning, everybody. we have a very distinguished panel this morning. not that we don't always, but this is particularly so.

and we welcome you all. there will be hopefully thousands of senators coming to surround to ask questions about the impenetrable future. but anyway, this hearing is about the emergence of wrong line video and the power broad band to change the way in which we watch. and who knows what that is going to be five or ten years from now. this is the start of an exciting and it's a timely conversation. it's the first hearing that has been held on this subject, which is not sort of attacking each other, but looking out into the future and trying to figure out what is coming at us. can we handle it? now why are we doing this? because television is just an overpowering force in our life. television meaning what a lot of people still watch. at its best, it can do more than

entertain, it can educate. but not all television programing is enlightening. nor is it all fit for children's viewing. it's a global age, and i'm concerned the video content that we produce does not represent the best face that america has to the nation. so my first question is how will this disruptive technology -- when i say that, that's not a negative connotation, that's just a fact that things are changing so fast in such mammothly important is disruptive in a hopefully positive sense but definitely disruptive. how will the disruptive technology that online viewing will provide lead better -- to better content and to more consumer choice. but more than content is at issue here because year in and year out consumers face rate increases for pay television that are rising faster than the rate of inflation.

we're paying for so many channels, though we usually only watch a few. i, for example, have 500 channels. and if i watch in the course of a month more than ten, i would be amazed. why am i paying for 490? i have no idea. does it give me a warm fuzzy feeling? not particularly. but on the other hand, it is all there if i want to go get it. so who is to know about human nature? so i want to know if the emergence of online video will do more than improve content and expand choice? i want to know if it's going to bring a halt or a slowdown at least to escalating bills. one other point i want to make. i've said forcefully in the past that too much television programming is crude and a poor reflection of our society. although this hearing is not focused on that topic, and i want to make it clear, i just also want to make it clear that

this is something which i really care about very deeply as all of my suffering colleagues on this committee know and i'm going to keep at it until it gets better or until i get to be my great grandfather's age, whichever comes first. so right now the question is, how do we harness this change for power for consumers? so we can get higher quality program at lower rates. but really more important, what's going to happen? what's going to happen? the stats of people who are cutting off land line and -- for telephones can also be -- i mean, i think i read that in the last month that nielsen had said that all broadcast news was down in the last month. now i guess if it's down over the course of a year it would be down over the past month but it sort of grabbed me putting it

that succinctly. to our witnesses, i look forward to your thoughts on this subject and i thank you for joining us today and i want this to be a lively and forward looking theory. so senator demint is the ranking member of the subcommittee. on this subject. senator kerry is not here for the moment. and senator demint, we look forward to your comments. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and i do thank all the witnesses for being here. thanks for holding the hearing. the communications sector continues to be one of the most dynamic and innovative in our economy, and i hope this is just the first of many hearings this year that allow an opportunity to learn and discuss the marketplace and update the committee's record. mr. chairman, the obstacles between consumers and the video content they seek continues to disappear. and the video market, tremendous advancements in technology and massive capital investments in distribution networks now

empower consumers to craft their own viewing experiences more than ever. at the root of this increasing consumer power and choice is a complex and overlapping mix of content creators, distributors and electronic manufacturers racing to serve the marketplace better. a few such companies from this mix are with us today. with innovation empowered individuals however comes disruption to establish mods and incumbent powers. unfortunately many of our current video laws and policies were sought and achieved decades ago by established interest seeking government granted protection from market forces. they were written for a time and a market that no longer exists. and they need to be repealed. our video laws simply do not reflect the current realities of the marketplace, and i'm afraid they actually foreclose innovative service offerings and consumer benefits.

our laws should not promote or protect one technology over another or one competitor over another. last year i introduced the next generation television marketplace act to comprehensively withdraw government meddling from the video industry. there are two primary interventions the government has made over the years in the video market which my bill repeals. the compulsory copyright license and retransmission consent. these laws impose mandates on individual consumers and businesses. they violate the property rights of content creators, and they treat similar services differently. while i know these legacy issues are not the focus of today's hearing, mr. chairman, i look forward to discussing them at a future hearing here in this committee. in his prepared remarks, mr. diller states that consumer demand is a powerful force, and

those who give consumers what they want will be rewarded in the marketplace. i couldn't agree more, which is why i believe we should be creating a deregulatory parody in the video market so investment and innovation, not lawyers and lobbyists, is rewarded in a free economy to the ultimate benefit of all consumers. finally, mr. chairman, i want to express my sincere interest in working together with you to seek ways to improve our laws and regulations to better serve competition, innovation, the national economy and most importantly, the american consumer. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you very much. thank you for those comments which, obviously, i share about working together. we have not sat together before, but we will sit together in the future. our witnesses are sublime. barry diller who i've known for many years. my wife says hi.

chairman of iac, former chairman of paramount pictures, fox broadcasting, usa broadcasting and you are an investor. you are very knowledgeable about the history of video and you have spoken previously about how the disruptive change presented by online video may change the nature of pay television. so we welcome your testimony, sir. >> thank you. >> -- long -- say too long career in entertainment and media. i've been chairman of three major studios, broadcast stations, broadcast network, cable channels and now internet companies with more than 50

brands. so i've been both a practitioner and a student in the evolution of media over the last 45 years. with ubiquitous broadband internet access, an unlimited pipe of options will be increasingly available for all audiences. and together with the advances in consumer devices like the ipad, it allowed consumers to access the content they want directly from producers without middlemen, without toll takers, wherever and however they want. this is the great future of consumer choice and competition. and i think the realization of generation s of public policy aspirations. that is, if we protect and encourage the miracle of the internet which allows anyone to press a send button and publish to the world without having to go through the closed systems that have so dominated media since its very beginning. contrast that future with the past world of less than a handful of broadcast television stations. and this evolved in the '70s and the '80s with the advent of cable television and satellite video distribution.

but its development was encircled by rules and regulations designed primarily to preserve the incumbent broadcasters. hardly surprising that given any technological development that threatens the hegemony of the existing players is going to be opposed by them. then along came video recorders. when sony introduced the beta max video cassette recorder. this was opposed in a suit by universal and disney. at the time, two of the largest producers of programming. they contended that no one should have the right to make a copy of their material. courts disagreed and the vcr industry boomed. it made way for private, on-demand consumer consumption through the sale or rental of prerecorded video cassette tapes. cable and satellite offered all manners of service enabled by the technology of the video recorder.

now, along comes the great revolution of the internet affecting every pocket of commerce, except, oddly, the way most people receive the most popular video programming. but even with the restrictive tv everywhere concept that demand a cable or satellite subscriptiona few online video on demand services to begin a transition to the online environment. this great internet revolution is ready now to provide a new platform for competition that will, in turn, lead to video packages and a la cart offerings driven by consumer choice and device innovation rather than dictate it by the financial interests of a handful of programmers and distribution companies.

how can that not be in the public interest. there are no barriers to entry on the internet. creators have the opportunity to make and distribute whatever is their fancy. if intermediaries have less control over the tv ecosystem, creators would be able to reach viewers more directly and will not have to sign over so many rights to distributors. viewers would benefit from being able to watch vastly more programming in the way they want to watch it and from having an alternative to subsidizing the current unwieldy marketplace. new technology can allow a more modern approach to receiving local broadcast programming. right now roughly 15% of americans rely solely on over the air television because it's difficult to install home antennas or because of problems with reception. this ought to be of concern to

congress which appropriated $650 million to ensure that households could actually receive the signals when digital replaced analog broadcasting. areo, a company in which i've invested, has invented technologies that allow consumers to get a clear, perfect picture over the internet and watch live, local broadcast television on any connected device -- an ipad, iphone or an internet ready television set. it provides its members with their own antenna capable of receiving high definition local broadcasts. properly understood, areo allows a consumer to outsource or locate remotely an antenna and dvr and to use that equipment to access the over the air content to which they are all entitled. its dvr and the cloud technology ad a breakthrough as the

consumer need nose extra wires -- consumers need no extra fires or set-top boxes or remote controls that no one understands. by making over the air digital broadcast signals actually useful to consumers, areo is bringing forth the very reality that congress sought, that congress invested close to a billion dollars in and at no additional cost to taxpayers. areo is but one example of how the internet can inject competition into the video market place. online video is just beginning. it will take all kinds of new products, a lot of failures that will move these systems from a closed to an open environment. it will take vigilance to make certain that net neutrality continues to be safeguarded. that no road blocks or toll bridges can be inserted between the producer and the consumer. my hope is that congress keeps the most watchful eye as these marketplaces develop.

i know at some point soon the communications act of '96 will have to be rewritten to take into account the internet which didn't exist when the act became law. incumbents have natural incentives to limb tip threats. congress should be aware that the rules of the game favor entry, innovation and competition. in the end, there's no stopping technical innovation, but i would hope that a wise and engaged congress will make certain we have the levelest playing field, most encouraging environment for new media over the next crucial years of its development. thank you for listening, and i'll be happy to answer any questions i can. >> thank you, mr. diller. our next witness is ms. susan whiting, who is vice chairman of the neilson company. and i think you're going to talk about how american viewing patterns are changing, which is for sure.

and that more households are watching online video than ever before. you've been at this -- your company has been at this for decades and decades and you produced data about american television which is very helpful. and particularly helpful as we go into this disruptive period where nobody is quite where sure it's going to end up. so we welcome you. >> thank you. thank you, chairman rockefeller, and other members of the committee. as you said, i'm susan whiting, vice chair of the nielsen company. you are, i think, familiar with nielsen's role in television ratings in the u.s., but you may not know we're also a global information and measurement company measuring what people watch on tv, on the internet, on mobile devices, but also what they buy in retail stores all over the world. so i appreciate this opportunity. based on our latest research, the average american watches nearly five hours of video each day.

91% of which is done watching traditional tv sets in realtime or live, meaning they are not recording on a dvr, using video on demand or even watching a dvd. but what has emerged in the last four or five years is a simple message. consumers watch their favorite content on the best screen available at that moment. and they watch from more locations and on more devices than ever before. the availability of digital technology, digital access and the explosion of laptop computers, mobile devices and tablet computers in american life has really enabled this change. these devices, along with, at the same time, a record number of tvs in homes, have provided more screens. our latest state of the media u.s. digital consumer report provides a comprehensive overview of these trends.

my testimony today is based on the findings in that report and the report has been provided to the committee. today more than 274 million americans have internet access through their computers which has doubled since 2000. in october of 2011, nearly 166 million americans watched video online. and more than 117 million americans accessed the internet through a mobile device. nearly half of all the mobile devices used in the u.s. today are smartphones which makes it possible to access the video. broadly speaking, each month, the average american sends 146 hours and 45 minutes watching tv, 4 hours and 31 minutes watching internet videos on a pc and 4 hours and 20 minutes watching video on a mobile device. so the use of video on pcs continues to increase. it's up 80% in the last four years. so who is using video this way?

our research shows that women are 6% more likely to review video online than men. 18 to 34-year-olds match 35 to 49-year-olds as the largest demographic watching videos online. sites like youtube and netflix together most recently represented 56% of the streaming time which for the average american is 4 hours and about 31 minutes each month. but along with that increase in video consumption online, it's worth noting that 33.5 million mobile phone users now watch video on their phones which has increased almost 36% since last year and consumers with this access spent 4 hours and 20 minutes doing this. consumers are increasingly becoming media multitaskers meaning that they'll use more

than one form of media at the same time. for example, recent nielsen data shows that 57% of smartphone and tablet users in the u.s. check their e-mail and 44% visited a social network site while watching tv. consumers are finding and accessing their favorite content on more and more devices. or screens. consumers are saying unequivocally that online video will continue to play an increasingly larger role in their media choices. thank you again, senator rockefeller, for the opportunity to join you today. >> thank you, ms. whiting. mr. paul misener, the vice president of amazon.com. and i believe that you will speak about amazon's entry into the online streaming video business following on the heels of its efforts to digitize books and make them more widely available through its kindle

service. i'm going on a limb here but i think you'll stress the need for an open internet which is kind of called network neutrality which is controversial around here but which i support and which my colleague to my left does not. in order for amazon to compete against incumbent video service providers. we welcome you. >> thank you very much, chairman rockefeller. >> did i get it about right? >> yes, sir. absolutely right. my mom will be proud. thank you, mr. chairman and members of the committee. exactly a quarter century ago, the fcc set out to establish rules for so-called advance television which was the very first significant update to consumer video quality since the introduction of color tv in the early 1950s. the commission established a private sector advisory to evaluate the technology and i had the honor of assisting that committee's chairman. his committee can be thanked for the beautiful theater quality video that we now take for granted when we watch a movie or football game on hdtv.

but much more emerged from the chairman's committee than pretty pictures. already in the mid'80s, digital video capture and compression had come of age. in the early '90s, the committee also oversaw the emergence of digital transmission of digital video data bits. the future of video was to be digital all the way from the camera to the display. two other crucial developments occurred at the same time. first, the worldwide web was invented, forever transforming the internet. second, congress overhauled u.s. communications law. although the 1996 act maintains some legacy distinctions, it also codified the concept of an information service. it was into this era that amazon.com was born. amazon opened on the world wide web in july 1995 as an online book store and quickly grew to

offer other media products, including music, cds, vhs tapes if we remember those and dvds, all of which require physical delivery. but today, the amazon instant video service offers customers throughout the united states, whether in populous or rural areas the ability to buy, representati rent, or subscribe to a huge catalog of videos delivered instantly, 24 hours a day. amazon instant video is available on pcs and macs and other internet capable devices. amazon instant video currently offers 120,000 movies and commercial-free television episodes for purchase or rental and about 25,000 of those are available in high definition. in february 2011, amazon introduced prime instant video as a subscription service through which amazon prime members can watch instantly and for no additional cost more than 17,000 video titles selected from the amazon instant video library. this gives our customers an easy