A plan from Time Warner and Comcast to put more cable programming online but limit its availability to pay-TV subscribers drew criticism from the Media Access Project and Public Knowledge on Wednesday. Time Warner and Comcast executives laid out their plans to test an online video system with 5,000 Comcast subscribers this summer and said they expect more programmers and distributors to follow suit.

A plan from Time Warner and Comcast to put more cable programming online but limit its availability to pay-TV subscribers drew criticism from the Media Access Project and Public Knowledge on Wednesday. Time Warner and Comcast executives laid out their plans to test an online video system with 5,000 Comcast subscribers this summer and said they expect more programmers and distributors to follow suit.

The appeals court whose ruling against the FCC’s $550,000 fine to CBS for airing Janet Jackson’s nipple for less than a second during the 2004 Super Bowl will again consider arguments in the case, which was sent back to it by the Supreme Court (CD May 5 p6). A Thursday order by the 3rd U.S. Appeals Court in Philadelphia set a briefing schedule for CBS v. FCC, with appellant’s briefs due in 60 days. Paperwork from the other side is due in another 40 days, with 14 more days for appellants to respond. The decision was made by the three judges who initially remanded in 2008 the indecency fine to the commission: Julio Fuentes, Anthony Scirica and Marjorie Rendell. Even though the 3rd Circuit wants another round of briefs, it doesn’t indicate whether the court will again hold oral arguments in the case, said Media Access President Andrew Schwartzman, a participant.

DirecTV doesn’t think its merger with Liberty Entertainment will face any regulatory hurdles, a company official said, though the deal will require FCC and Securities and Exchange Commission approval. The FCC has jurisdiction of DirecTV license transfers, DirecTV spokesman Darris Gringeri said, but he expects the deal to be finalized by Q4. However, cable operators may have concerns about the deal, American Cable Association President Matthew Polka said.

DirecTV doesn’t think its merger with Liberty Entertainment will face any regulatory hurdles, a company official said, though the deal will require FCC and Securities and Exchange Commission approval. The FCC has jurisdiction of DirecTV license transfers, DirecTV spokesman Darris Gringeri said, but he expects the deal to be finalized by Q4. However, cable operators may have concerns about the deal, American Cable Association President Matthew Polka said.

The Supreme Court vacated an appeals court’s indecency remand (CD July 22 p1) of the FCC’s $550,000 fine against CBS for showing Janet Jackson’s nipple for a split-second during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. A Monday order remanded the case, FCC v. CBS, to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia “in light” of last week’s Supreme Court decision in another indecency case. In that case, the high court found that the commission wasn’t wrong to censure Fox for fleeting obscenities. Broadcast lawyers had expected the court to vacate the case after the ruling on FCC v. Fox. “It’s by no means clear that the Supreme Court’s decision here will control the Janet Jackson case,” said Media Access Project President Andrew Schwartzman. But the outcome “unquestionably gives the FCC another chance,” said Schwartzman, who represented the Center for Creative Voices in Media, which sided with CBS in the case. CBS is “confident that in reviewing the case the Third Circuit will again recognize that the Super Bowl incident, while inappropriate and regrettable, was not and could not have been anticipated” by the broadcast network, said a spokeswoman. “This remains an important issue for the entire broadcasting industry because it recognizes that there are rare instances, particularly during live programming, when despite best efforts it may not be possible to block unfortunate fleeting material.” The FCC had no comment.

The FCC’s decision to start censuring the airing of a single curse word didn’t violate the Administrative Procedure Act as broadcasters contended and as the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals in New York ruled, said a split Supreme Court decision Tuesday. The majority opinion remanded the case to the 2nd Circuit and was written by Justice Antonin Scalia. It was a narrow ruling on procedural grounds -- as expected (CD Nov 5 p4) -- but communication lawyers said it may pave the way for the 2nd Circuit to consider constitutional questions. Until the case is decided and further appeals exhausted, the FCC may lack constitutional guidance on indecency rules, they said.

Tribune’s plan for a merger involving two Connecticut TV stations and a daily newspaper that it owns (CD March 31 p8) drew fire from the state’s attorney general as possibly violating FCC rules. But the commission seems to have little basis for investigating because the stations, WTIC-TV Hartford and WTTX Waterbury, have no license renewals pending, FCC and industry officials said.

The FCC withdrew a recent request that an appeals court go ahead with deciding challenges to an order loosening some restrictions on when a company can own a daily newspaper and a broadcast station in a city (CD Dec 19/07 p1). In a notice of withdrawal of opposition filed Thursday with the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appals in Philadelphia, the commission reversed the position of its previous leadership. Commissioner Robert McDowell wrote the court Friday to say he “respectfully disagreed” with last week’s filing and still supports the FCC’s January request for the case to go forward.

Michael Copps said he wants to whittle down a backlog of long-pending items at the FCC while he’s acting chairman. The separation of Time Warner Cable from its parent in a multibillion dollar deal may be among the first items acted on, said agency and industry officials. It’s been awaiting FCC approval for over seven months.