Rising retransmission consent rates, dependence on the UHF discount, and a lack of complete information are reasons the FCC should turn down Nexstar’s proposed buy of Tribune (see 1901300054), said postings in docket 19-30 this week. Dish Network, NCTA, Frontier Communications, the American Television Alliance and a collection of anti-consolidation groups including Common Cause and Sports Fan Coalition filed concerns. “The transaction raises serious concerns under antitrust analysis that would undermine competition in the broadcast market,” said the anti-consolidation joint filing.
State bills to speed up next-generation 911 rollout are gaining steam in Arkansas and Maryland. Widely supported bills heard Tuesday would increase 911 user fees to fund system upgrades.
China, the supply chain and 5G are the top policy focuses of the Department of Homeland Security’s new Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Director Christopher Krebs said Tuesday at a lunch sponsored by Samsung and the Telecommunications Industry Association. Krebs defended DHS’ decision not to include the FCC among the principal members of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Task Force unveiled last year. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said repeatedly the FCC should have a seat.
The White House’s renewed proposal to wind down and then cut off CPB federal funding isn’t a surprise and won’t keep public TV groups from seeking a funding increase, said public TV broadcasters and others in interviews. “We are assured by our friends in Congress that we have broad support for this funding increase,” said America’s Public Television Stations CEO Patrick Butler. APTS is seeking a $50 million increase for CPB after 10 years of level funding at $445 million (see 1902250063).
Replies on the 6 GHz NPRM largely refuted claims in initial comments (see 1902190005), which included many from incumbents concerned about interference. The FCC appears committed to moving forward with unlicensed in 6 GHz, and licensed in the C band, and must decide on such issues as whether to allow use of the band indoors without automated frequency control (AFC) (see 1902250054). Replies were due Monday in docket 18-295.
Last week's terrorist attack in New Zealand puts more pressure on lawmakers to regulate online platforms, some experts said. Even before that, 70-80 proposals for regulating platforms were under consideration globally, Hogan Lovells preliminarily found in an ongoing six-month survey. Early results show "by far the most proposals we tracked come from the government," emailed Hogan Lovells (Brussels) competition lawyer Falk Schoening.
Some factors point toward Congress enacting a narrowly tailored reauthorization of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act this year, but many unknowns remain, industry representatives said Monday during an FCBA event. The 2014 STELA recertification extended the statute through 2019 (see 1411200036). Some lawmakers are beginning to dig into the debate over recertification before a likely March 27 Senate Commerce Committee media market hearing (see 1903150045).
President Donald Trump’s administration again proposes to cut funding to CPB in its FY 2020 budget proposal as part of its “plan to move the Nation towards fiscal responsibility and to redefine the proper role of the Federal Government.” Trump signed off in October on a FY 2019 federal spending law that maintained CPB’s annual funding at $445 million through FY 2021, despite having proposed in that year’s budget request to draw down the program’s funding (see 1809280043). The budget increased proposed money for the FCC and NTIA from what the administration proposed in its FY 2019 request. The FCC’s figure is down from its funding level under the spending bill passed in February (see 1902150055).
Democrat and Republican staffs are in informal discussions about privacy legislation, House Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chair Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., told us. That signals the committee’s bipartisan legislative discussion isn't as advanced as its Senate counterpart. “We’ve been meeting about it. We fully intend to talk to them in the hopes of getting something bipartisan, but we’re not there yet,” she told us. Schakowsky is the Democratic lead on the committee’s privacy effort.
Despite reports DOJ is nearing the end of reviewing T-Mobile's planned Sprint buy and that antitrust officials are skeptical of some of the companies' claims, outsiders know very little about how DOJ will come down or when it will make an announcement. Lawyers involved expect something from Justice in about a month, near the one-year anniversary of the April 29 announcement.