A federal appeals court denied a motion to stay the FCC’s recent DTV “viewability” rule, court filings show. Broadcasters, including the NAB, had sued the FCC over the order at the U.S. Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit and had sought to block the rule the agency adopted this summer that will let cable operators stop distributing must-carry stations in analog if they offer subscribers certain digital cable equipment (CD Aug 3 p5). The appellants have “not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending court review,” Judges Judith Rogers, David Tatel and Brett Kavanaugh decided. The ruling is a disappointment because the new requirements will hurt low-income consumers, said Andrew Schwartzman, a communications attorney following the case. “It is always hard to tell why a stay is being denied, so it doesn’t foretell what will happen once the case receives a full briefing,” he said.
The advent of online content is causing the media industry and policymakers to assess whether there is a need for regulation in that space, some media professionals said Friday on Capitol Hill at an event hosted by the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee. So far, programming through the Internet is flourishing amid discussions around proposed and existing regulations like the FCC program access rules and the Video Privacy Protection Act, they said.
The advent of online content is causing the media industry and policymakers to assess whether there is a need for regulation in that space, some media professionals said Friday on Capitol Hill at an event hosted by the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee. So far, programming through the Internet is flourishing amid discussions around proposed and existing regulations like the FCC program access rules and the Video Privacy Protection Act, they said.
The Department of Justice’s consent decree last month approving Verizon Wireless’s buy of AWS licenses from SpectrumCo and Cox contains conditions that will lead to a continuing role for DOJ monitoring business practices well into the future, officials said. Under the decree, Verizon has to send DOJ annual reports providing details on where Verizon is rolling out fiber and explaining why it’s not profitable to do so. The consent decree provides a monitoring role for the government that some experts say shows a new trend of greater involvement of the government after the fact, years after a deal is complete.
The Department of Justice’s consent decree last month approving Verizon Wireless’s buy of AWS licenses from SpectrumCo and Cox contains conditions that will lead to a continuing role for DOJ monitoring business practices well into the future, officials said. Under the decree, Verizon has to send DOJ annual reports providing details on where Verizon is rolling out fiber and explaining why it’s not profitable to do so. The consent decree provides a monitoring role for the government that some experts say shows a new trend of greater involvement of the government after the fact, years after a deal is complete.
The FCC is unlikely to even start collecting data on special access rates until next year, Wireline Bureau Chief Julie Veach conceded at an FCBA lunch Wednesday. She said the data collection order is almost ready, but once it’s finalized by the commission it still faces review by the Office of Management and Budget. The OMB must vet it under the Paperwork Reduction Act.
With TV stations expected to bring in record political ad revenue this year, broadcasters’ windfall could limit participation in the upcoming incentive auction of broadcast licenses, industry and government sources warn. The political ad windfall could be nearly $3 billion, with both presidential campaigns eschewing spending limits and in the aftermath of a 2010 decision by the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. FEC, in which the court said the First Amendment prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by corporations and unions. But several broadcast industry experts said these fears may not come to pass.
In a proposal that is raising some concerns internally at the FCC, a notice of proposed rulemaking on rules for an incentive auction of broadcast spectrum proposes that a reverse auction, where broadcasters will propose to sell their spectrum or opt to share spectrum, and a forward auction, where the agency will offer the licenses for 4G and LTE, take place concurrently, officials said. The NPRM was circulated by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski Sept. 7 (CD Sept 10 p1) and it was being reviewed by the various commissioner offices last week. The NPRM is slated to get a vote at the FCC’s Sept. 28 meeting.
Democrats on Tuesday touted their work to modernize, expand and secure the nation’s telecommunications infrastructure in the party’s 2012 national platform. Their plan offered sharp contrasts to the GOP’s platform positions on political advertising, cybersecurity and online privacy, while presenting similar commitments to protect Internet freedom and U.S. intellectual property (CD Aug 30 p1). Democrats did not offer any positions on Internet gambling, online pornography, cellphone tracking or online sales taxes. A copy of the 40 page platform circulated on Monday evening but was not ratified until after our Tuesday deadline.
Democrats on Tuesday touted their work to modernize, expand and secure the nation’s telecommunications infrastructure in the party’s 2012 national platform. Their plan offered sharp contrasts to the GOP’s platform positions on political advertising, cybersecurity and online privacy, while presenting similar commitments to protect Internet freedom and U.S. intellectual property (WID Aug 30 p1). Democrats did not offer any positions on Internet gambling, online pornography, cellphone tracking or online sales taxes. A copy of the 40-page platform circulated on Monday evening but was not to be ratified until after our Tuesday deadline.