Online content accessibility was raised for the first time in a continuing dispute between a broadcaster and cable operator when News Corp. wouldn’t let Cablevision subscribers access the Internet programming from its Fox network because of a linear content blackout, communications lawyers said. A retransmission consent impasse begun around 12:01 a.m. Saturday means all 3 million of the cable operators’ video subscribers can’t see Fox’s three New York and Philadelphia TV stations via Cablevision, and a quick resolution may not occur, industry and government officials said. For more than half the day Saturday, all of Cablevision’s 2.6 million Internet service subscribers couldn’t access any Fox content on Hulu, the video website partly owned by News Corp.
Online content accessibility was raised for the first time in a continuing dispute (CD Oct 15 p2) between a broadcaster and cable operator when News Corp. wouldn’t let Cablevision subscribers access the Internet programming from its Fox network because of a linear content blackout, communications lawyers said. A retransmission consent impasse begun around 12:01 a.m. Saturday means all 3 million of the cable operators’ video subscribers can’t see Fox’s three New York and Philadelphia TV stations via Cablevision, and a quick resolution may not occur, industry and government officials said. For more than half the day Saturday, all of Cablevision’s 2.6 million Internet service subscribers couldn’t access any Fox content on Hulu, the video website partly owned by News Corp.
Online content accessibility was raised for the first time in a continuing dispute between a broadcaster and cable operator when News Corp. wouldn’t let Cablevision subscribers access the Internet programming from its Fox network because of a linear content blackout, communications lawyers said. A retransmission consent impasse begun around 12:01 a.m. Saturday means all 3 million of the cable operators’ video subscribers can’t see Fox’s three New York and Philadelphia TV stations via Cablevision, and a quick resolution may not occur, industry and government officials said. For more than half the day Saturday, all of Cablevision’s 2.6 million Internet service subscribers couldn’t access any Fox content on Hulu, the video website partly owned by News Corp.
A proposal by FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell for broadcasters to come up with their own standards on indecency has drawn some early interest from the TV industry but no pledges of the dialogue sought. FCC enforcement of its own indecency rules is restricted by a recent appeals court loss. The plan floated at the NAB radio show (CD Oct 1 p1) by McDowell, a Republican, hasn’t led to serious talks between the commission and industry, and neither side appears to have made an entreaty to the other to begin a conversation, commission and industry officials said. Some broadcasters are skeptical of McDowell’s plan -- which drew some support from one former FCC chairman even as another said it’s unworkable -- while others may be interested, executives and government officials said.
The restart of discussions on a net neutrality agreement seems to have at least the tacit approval of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, industry officials said. Commission officials have made it clear that the agency probably won’t hold another round of discussion, after negotiations brokered by Chief of Staff Eddie Lazarus collapsed two weeks ago. By keeping discussions going, Genachowski will at least be able to show Congress that the commission isn’t moving rashly to reclassify broadband transmission as a Title II service, executives said. They said the talks don’t give him an escape hatch for the conundrum he faces in which public-interest groups are unlikely to join the talks and so he may still need to decide whether to promulgate rules or wait for Congress to do so.
The restart of discussions on a net neutrality agreement seems to have at least the tacit approval of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, industry officials said. Commission officials have made it clear that the agency probably won’t hold another round of discussion, after negotiations brokered by Chief of Staff Eddie Lazarus collapsed two weeks ago. By keeping discussions going, Genachowski will at least be able to show Congress that the commission isn’t moving rashly to reclassify broadband transmission as a Title II service, executives said. They said the talks don’t give him an escape hatch for the conundrum he faces in which public-interest groups are unlikely to join the talks and so he may still need to decide whether to promulgate rules or wait for Congress to do so.
Another round of net neutrality talks is under way, this time sponsored by the Information Technology Industry Council. The talks feature some industry companies that did not figure in the recently collapsed round of negotiations at the FCC, including Cisco and Microsoft, as well as such key players in the commission discussions as Verizon, AT&T, NCTA and Skype, industry sources said. The Open Internet Coalition and Google have not participated so far. “Any negotiations over a solution to net neutrality that do not involve representatives of the Internet users and innovators who will be the future Googles and Amazons and Dells will and should be unsuccessful,” said Andrew Schwartzman, senior vice president of the Media Access project. It doesn’t appear that many groups favoring net neutrality have joined the talks yet, an industry executive said. The groups seem to be discussing amongst themselves whether to sign on, said the official whose company favors net neutrality. “While we're not involved in these new discussions, we're glad that there is ongoing dialogue,” said FCC spokeswoman Jen Howard. “The FCC started down the road of attempting to use industry negotiations to solve a major public policy issue, and this appears to be a continuation of that method,” Public Knowledge said. “We think the FCC should decide these issues, and quickly, using the public record in already open dockets, and not leave decision-making up to powerful industry players.”
Another round of net neutrality talks is under way, this time sponsored by the Information Technology Industry Council. The talks feature some industry companies that did not figure in the recently collapsed round of negotiations at the FCC, including Cisco and Microsoft, as well as such key players in the commission discussions as Verizon, AT&T, NCTA and Skype, industry sources said. The Open Internet Coalition and Google have not participated so far. “Any negotiations over a solution to net neutrality that do not involve representatives of the Internet users and innovators who will be the future Googles and Amazons and Dells will and should be unsuccessful,” said Andrew Schwartzman, senior vice president of the Media Access project. It doesn’t appear that many groups favoring net neutrality have joined the talks yet, an industry executive said. The groups seem to be discussing amongst themselves whether to sign on, said the official whose company favors net neutrality. “While we're not involved in these new discussions, we're glad that there is ongoing dialogue,” said FCC spokeswoman Jen Howard.
More than 150 attorneys, economists, professors, assistants and analysts have sought access to confidential or highly confidential data provided to the FCC in its review of the Comcast-NBC Universal merger, FCC documents show. That’s more than double the number of people who sought access to such data during the FCC’s review of the News Corp.-DirecTV transaction that concluded in 2003, FCC filings show. Comcast alone had more than 50 people sign the acknowledgements of confidentiality to gain access to confidential data submitted by critics of the deal. They range from partners, associates and legal assistants at a handful of law firms to economic consultants and law professors who are reviewing the information. NBCU has 23 attorneys, assistants and analysts authorized to review the data, and GE has four partners, an associate and two assistants at Lawler Metzger working on the documents.
Whether the Verizon Google net neutrality proposal would eliminate FTC authority regarding abuses remains a bone of contention (CD Aug 10 p1). A Verizon spokesman said Tuesday it would not. “The joint Google-Verizon proposal expressly states that generally applicable law that applies to all businesses -- which includes the FTC’s consumer protection laws -- continue to apply,” spokesman Edward McFadden said in a written statement. Media Access Project Senior Vice President Andrew Schwartzman disagreed. “The two pager” on the deal “expressly states that the FCC will have ‘exclusive authority to oversee broadband,'” he said. “That takes away the FTC’s authority. The takeaway is explicit, and the reading of ambiguous language about leaving stuff in place is not."