Latest from Next TV in Common-sense-media

Cox Investing $60 Million to Close Distance Learning Gap

john.eggerton@futurenet.com (John Eggerton) — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 21:32:10 +0000

Saying the COVID-19 pandemic can't be allowed to create an "irreversible" learning gap for students without access to the internet, Cox is teaming up with Common Sense Media to try and do something about it.

Cox President Pat Esser; Michael Powell, president of NCTA-the Internet & Television Association; Common Sense Media CEO Jim Steyer; and others unveiled the initiative at a virtual press conference Tuesday (Sept. 29).

Esser and Powell unveiled a big bucks initiative during the virtual press conference with Cox pledging $60 million over the next year to help close the digital learning divide.

"Our commitment remains strong, but we cannot do this alone. We need to keep partnering with cities, school districts, counties and community-based organizations to get families connected," said Esser.

Cox will also extend its offer to new Connect2Compete customers. If they sign up by year's end, they will get two months free, followed by $9.95 per month internet. Cox's outdoor WiFi hotspots will also remain open to all comers. Both of those were part of its commitment to keep Americans connected during the pandemic.

The company has also launched Cox CARES Act Solutions for Education to help states and localities spend the billions of dollars in CARES Act COVID-19 aid that can be used for distance learning.

Elsewhere on the cable broadband front, Charter has re-instituted its pandemic-prompted 60-day free internet/WiFi offer for homes with K-12 and college kids, as well as for teachers.

As schools attempt to reopen virtually, or with a mix of in-person and virtual instruction, making sure as many students--and teachers--have access to broadband as possible is more important than ever. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has freed up more funding as well as pushing Congress to allocate more funds for distance learning and states to use some of the billions already available for distance learning, while Hill Democrats have been pushing Pai to interpret the FCC's E-rate broadband subsidy restriction on funding to classroom broadband and equipment to include remote learning and equipment for the "home" classroom, something Pai has so far said the statute does not allow.

Parents Average 9-Plus Hours of Daily Screen Time

john.eggerton@futurenet.com (John Eggerton) — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 05:01:00 +0000

Parents of tweens and teens are similarly wedded to their screens, a new study confirms.

"The Common Sense Census: Plugged-In Parents," which is being released today by Common Sense Media, found that, on average, those parents spend more than nine hours (9:22) with screen-based media each day. That includes time spent for work, but 82% of the time spent (7:43) is for personal use.

More than 3/4 of the respondents (78%) said they believe they are good media and technology role models for their children.

Of the 7-plus hours of personal time the parents spent for personal use, the biggest single biggest chunk of time (3:17) was spent viewing TV, movies and videos accessed over whatever technology was used (broadcast, cable, satellite, online, DVDs).

That was followed by gaming (1:30), social networking (1:06), Web browsing (0:51) and using an e-reader (0:15).

The age-old ("our house" versus "my Stuff!") debate between parents and kids over privacy definitely extends to online activity.

The vast majority of parents (85%) said that monitoring their children's media use is important, and 41% of parents said that they have checked the content of their children's devices and social media accounts either always or some of the time, while another 21% said they did so some of the time.

Most parents also said they had rules for their children's media watching, such as no mobile devices at mealtimes (78%) or after bedtime (63%).

The parents had concerns about their kids media use, including 43% who were concerned they were spending too much time online, 38% concerned about "over-sharing" personal information and 36% concerned about potential exposure to violent and pornographic images. Also on the list of worries were hurtful comments (34%), sexting (33%), exposure to drug and alcohol use (32%), consumerism (30%) and losing the ability to communicate well (27%).

But those concerns notwithstanding, the parents had a generally positive view of technology in many ways, perhaps not surprising given their own heavy diet of bits and bytes. The majority said that technology helps kids do schoolwork (94%), prepare to join the 21st Century workforce (98%), learn new skills (88%), use their creativity (79%), expose them to other cultures (77%), enable them to express opinions and beliefs (75%), find friends (69%), and build social skills (54%).

The report is based on a survey of 1,786 parents of children 8-18 living in the United States. It was conducted July 8-25, 2016. Common Sense Media defined parents' media screen time as including "watching TV, movies, and videos; playing video games; listening to music; using social media; reading either print or electronic books; and using digital devices for other purposes, such as browsing websites, playing games or any other activity." The survey also included questions about computer, smartphone and tablet use for work purposes.

Comcast’s X1 Enters the ‘Kids Zone’

Jeff Baumgartner — Tue, 05 May 2015 15:30:00 +0000

Hitting on a trend that has caught on in the over-the-top video world, Comcast has introduced a kids-friendly version of its X1 video platform.

The new enhancement, called Kids Zone, features content that is rated and reviewed by Common Sense Media for age-appropriateness. Kids Zone spans live TV, DVR recordings and nearly 8,500 kid’s movies and TV shows offered via Comcast’s VOD service.

The feature -- to be launched as a “permanent feature” of X1 in the next few months (Kids Zone will initially be offered through the Comcast Labs area of X1) -- also sorts movies and shows by what’s on live, what viewers have recently watched, and by network. Parents also have the option to select TV shows and movies by a preferred age range.

When Kids Zone is enabled, certain features of the platform - including channel up/channel down, ability to purchase or rent programming, and certain voice commands – will be disabled to ensure that kids don’t stumble across inappropriate channels or programming.

“We created an experience that gives kids the chance to watch TV independently but also gives parents peace of mind because they know the programming their kids are watching is age-appropriate,” Jennifer Metz, director of product management at Comcast Cable, said in a statement. “This is a first-of-its-kind for our industry and because of the flexibility and power of the X1 platform; it’s only going to keep getting better.”

Comcast, citing Common Sense Media research study, said children spend approximately two hours per day with some sort of screen media, with about 50% of that time spent watching TV in the home. A survey conducted by Sprout, NBCUniversal’s network for tots, also found that 69% of parents seek TV settings that prevent their kids from accessing inappropriate content.

YouTube and Netflix are among the OTT providers that have introduced kid-friendly versions of their services.

On Monday (May 4), Comcast introduced Xfinity Share, an app that lets X1 subs send live video streams, recorded video, and digital photos to the TV as well as to other smartphones.