Matt Daneman

That a high-profile broadcast blackout on DBS was narrowly averted during the pendency of a draft retransmission consent NPRM may mean the spat gets more than usual attention, both sides on the issue agreed in interviews Monday. It's an open question, though, whether that will translate into any changes in how the commission addresses retrans, stakeholders said. Dish Network complained Saturday to the FCC on Sinclair's bargaining tactics, then Sunday put the complaint on hold as the two companies continued both contract talks and carriage. The draft NPRM would spell out whether a variety of retrans practices might constitute either a per se violation of "good faith" negotiating or could be considered as part of a totality of circumstances test of good faith (see 1508140031).

Charter Communications likely has headed off many broadband-related merger conditions by addressing them early on, experts said. But multiple broadband and cable matters likely will be brought up by and before regulators as Charter seeks approval to buy Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable, they said. Charter agreed "from the get-go” to some of the most obvious potential conditions -- net neutrality and discounted broadband offerings to low-income populations -- said Barry Orton, telecom professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. That, plus that Charter, TWC and BHN don't share a “bully" reputation with Comcast based on complaints about strong-arm tactics, indicates the deals could have a relatively easy time winning approval, especially compared with Comcast’s aborted attempt to buy TWC, industry officials said.

A lengthy list of retransmission consent practices, from broadcasters ceding negotiating rights to tying arrangements, could be up for examination if FCC commissioners sign off on a draft NPRM circulated last week (see 1508120051), an informed person said.

The exclusivity rule and some broadcaster/pay-TV negotiating tactics could be going by the wayside, as some had expected (see 1508110026). FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Wednesday his office is circulating a set of draft orders tackling retransmission consent rules. The aim is "to bring governance up to date with the practical realities of today’s media landscape and will ensure that consumers remain well-served by our media policies," Wheeler said in a blog post announcing the retrans proposals and other possible rule changes affecting everything from AM radio to station contests. It also, if adopted, would set up a system for market modification for DBS and let local governments, local broadcasters and satellite providers request such market changes.

Hewlett-Packard and Intel are "illuminating the darkness" in their efforts to bring more racial and gender diversity to their workforces and leadership ranks, the Rev. Jesse Jackson told us Wednesday. Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition has been campaigning for greater workforce diversity in the tech industry (see 1508110036). The group applauded new Intel data released Wednesday about its hiring efforts as well as HP's announcement of its post-split board.

The almost two-year review of whether Globalstar can deploy a private Wi-Fi channel in the 2.4 GHz band remains in limbo, some industry officials said. "We cannot say with clarity exactly where it is," CEO Jay Monroe said on a conference call Monday. "The next step in the process, once the technical work is completed, is for it to move to the eighth floor. Because there were no technical problems that were identified by the bureaus, I suspect that the bureaus have made that known to the eighth floor." Other parties have said the terrestrial low-power service (TLPS) for broadband would cause interference.

Even as comment deadlines on emergency alert system rules were set Monday, the FCC had already received some filings from EAS stakeholders. Comments on proposed changes are due Sept. 9, replies Sept. 24, in docket 04-296, the Public Safety Bureau said in Monday's Federal Register. The proposed rule changes follow a request by the National Weather Service that the FCC add three EAS event codes for extreme wind and storm surges, and that it revise the territorial boundaries of geographic location codes 75 and 77, which are offshore marine areas.

The National Association of African American Owned Media and a media company plan to appeal this week seeking to overturn a U.S. District Court's dismissal of a $20 billion lawsuit against Comcast, Time Warner Cable and an array of civil rights organizations and individuals. "We want to get this reversed," Skip Miller of law firm Miller Barondess, representing NAAAOM, told us Monday.

Cord cutters increasingly are cutting Wall Street's regard for much of the pay-TV industry, as numerous stocks took a dive last week amid fears of declining numbers of video subscribers and smaller bundles. "It is clear the dynamic with the customer is changing," Cablevision CEO Jim Dolan said Friday in an earnings conference call. "The traditional video bundle does not work for all customers." The march toward smaller bundles "does leave anxiety out there for a lot of companies," CBS CEO Leslie Moonves said in another conference call.

Proposed elimination of the two-degree spacing policy is creating degrees of separation among some satellite companies. While operators want higher power satellite services than the policy allows, "such services should not come at a cost of increased uncertainty of the interference environment," EchoStar said in a filing in FCC docket 12-267 posted Tuesday. It responded to Intelsat, which has been the leading proponent of eliminating the two-degree spacing rules. "The mere existence of the policy creates a licensing imbalance that favors non-U.S. operators who do not face similar constraints from their licensing administrations," Intelsat said in a filing early this year. "Worse yet, the two-degree spacing policy can be leveraged to impair the United States’ priority spectrum rights" at the ITU.