Leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees remain interested in continuing to pursue a broad media policy legislative revamp in 2020, after negotiations on Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization language resulted in a skinny renewal measure that addressed few additional issues (see 1912190068). President Donald Trump signed the FY 2020 federal appropriations minibus bill (HR-1865) two weeks ago that contained the STELA renewal language (see 1912240001).
Strategies for getting around the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that involve the FCC splitting off deregulation items from the 2018 quadrennial review and approving them (see 1911210065) are unlikely to be successful, said experts including broadcast attorneys in interviews in December. The ruling requires the agency base changes to ownership rules on data about the rules’ effects on minority ownership, said United Church of Christ attorney Cheryl Leanz, who argued for the petitioners in Prometheus IV. “If the FCC doesn’t get the data, they don’t get to pass go.”
Odds appear slim for a settlement with all the states challenging the T-Mobile/Sprint/Dish Network deal. New York and California, the states leading the federal lawsuit, are considered least likely to settle. At a financial conference last month, T-Mobile President Mike Sievert said a settlement after closing arguments appears possible (see 1912100029).
Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, welcomed Facebook’s announcement it will remove misleading platform content about the U.S. census (see 1912190059). Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said more needs to be done.
The wireless industry, CTA and drone groups told the FCC that commercial spectrum is critical to safe operation of unmanned aerial systems. Comments were due Thursday on a notice on the use of the 960-1164 MHz and 5030-5091 MHz bands by drones. Commenters also agreed on the importance of flexible-use licensing. The comments reflect unusual consensus on a spectrum issue. The FCC is seeking comment as a requirement of Section 374 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018.
A 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision this month could have implications for state political advertising disclosure rules and for the FCC’s recent clarifications of its own political file rules, said broadcast attorneys in interviews (see 1910170037). In Washington Post v. David McManus, the 4th Circuit ruled unconstitutional a Maryland law designed to combat election interference by requiring online platforms to disclose political ad buys. The 4th Circuit’s analysis could be used to challenge state and federal laws on disclosure of political ads for online platforms, and some of those rules affect broadcasters, said Wilkinson Barker broadcast attorney David Oxenford in a blog post. Disclosure rules aimed at online platforms in the state of Washington could create “undue burdens” for broadcasters in the state, said Washington State Association of Broadcasters President Keith Shipman.
If the FTC seeks to block Facebook from integrating its messaging platforms, it’s likely a justified decision backed by antitrust standards, various lawmakers told us in recent interviews. The New York Times quoting unnamed sources reports that the agency is considering seeking a preliminary injunction to block Facebook from integrating messaging services across Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. Neither the FTC nor the company commented.
It's difficult to gauge how the citizens broadband radio service launch has gone so far. In September, the FCC, in docket 15-319 cleared Amdocs, CommScope, Federated Wireless, Google and Sony to start initial commercial deployment (ICD) in the 3.5 GHz band, but the companies aren’t required to publicly report numbers. CBRS Alliance President Dave Wright of CommScope told us initial numbers are proprietary, but CBRS is moving forward as expected with full-scale launch imminent. “I continue to be extremely excited,” Wright said.
House and Senate Commerce Committee leaders told us they’re aiming to return after the holiday recess to talks on legislation aimed at allocating proceeds from a pending FCC spectrum auction of in the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band. Senate Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., wasn’t able to reach an agreement with Democratic lawmakers (see 1912160061) to attach language from his C-band-centric 5G Spectrum Act (S-2881) to one of two FY 2020 minibus appropriations bills (HR-1158/HR-1865) that President Donald Trump signed last week. Some officials and lobbyists we spoke with are skeptical the lawmakers can reach an agreement that will bridge the divide that prevented a deal on S-2881.
Higher international average revenue per user forecasts in Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East led Pivotal Research Group to raise its year-end 2020 target price for Netflix to $425 from $400. For Q4, it’s forecasting 600,000-plus net new U.S. subscriber additions and more than 8 million internationally, ahead of guidance, wrote analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak in a Thursday investor note.