The FCC is seeing some of its deepest divisions ever under Chairman Tom Wheeler, said longtime FCC observers and former agency officials. By one count, in the 14 months Wheeler has been chairman there have been 11 party line votes at meetings, which is more than during the previous 106 months before he took office.
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The Obama administration’s 2009 rules that have kept many registered lobbyists out of the administration remain controversial, though they were watered down in August, industry officials said. While they've likely had an effect on the revolving door between industry and the government, industry observers said one concern has always been that they targeted some lobbyists -- those registered with Congress -- while ignoring other kinds of lobbying -- for example, those representing a company before the FCC or another federal agency.
Comcast’s willingness to hire representatives with a background at the FCC gives the cable operator an advantage when dealing with the agency, said attorneys and executives -- some former FCC officials themselves. Though industry observers disagree over whether that advantage stops at merely having one’s phone calls returned or extends to more palpable agency favors, all said inside knowledge of FCC processes and personnel gives Charter Communications, Comcast and Time Warner Cable a boost when dealing with the commission.
Though the FCC has characterized Sinclair’s deal with Howard Stirk Holdings as a victory for rules designed to increase diversity, Free Press and Sinclair's general counsel are less convinced the new arrangement is an improvement, they said in interviews. Free Press and others had characterized Sinclair’s original plan to shutter the stations as a political move designed to make tighter rules for joint sales agreements look bad. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn pointed to the stations’ sale last week to the African-American-owned broadcaster as evidence that those policies are working. New ownership models will "bring more independent voices to the station ownership ranks in a manner that promotes diversity, competition, and localism,” said Wheeler and Clyburn in a blog post.
The FCC Media Bureau restarted the merger shot clocks and pleading cycles for the AT&T/DirecTV and Comcast/Time Warner Cable deals on the same day that Dish Network, Public Knowledge and other entities launched their new Stop Mega Comcast Coalition in opposition to that deal. The new group, which also includes content company The Blaze, NTCA, Sports Fan Coalition and others, wants the FCC and Department of Justice to block the Comcast/TWC merger outright, said Public Knowledge President Gene Kimmelman in a conference call Wednesday. “It’s no surprise that the same competitors and special interest groups who’ve gone after Comcast in the past are at it again,” said Comcast in a blog post responding to the coalition launch and FCC announcement of the restarted merger reviews.
The FCC Media Bureau restarted the merger shot clocks and pleading cycles for the AT&T/DirecTV and Comcast/Time Warner Cable deals on the same day that Dish Network, Public Knowledge and other entities launched their new Stop Mega Comcast Coalition in opposition to that deal. The new group, which also includes content company The Blaze, NTCA, Sports Fan Coalition and others, wants the FCC and Department of Justice to block the Comcast/TWC merger outright, said Public Knowledge President Gene Kimmelman in a conference call Wednesday. “It’s no surprise that the same competitors and special interest groups who’ve gone after Comcast in the past are at it again,” said Comcast in a blog post responding to the coalition launch and FCC announcement of the restarted merger reviews.
Ahead of an FCC oversight hearing next week, Capitol Hill Republicans warned the agency against reclassifying broadband as a Communications Act Title II telecom service. Hill Republicans are widely expected to counter forthcoming FCC net neutrality rules in the next Congress. Some industry lobbyists wonder if lawmakers will revive a tool used to attack the agency’s initial rules in 2011.
Ahead of an FCC oversight hearing next week, Capitol Hill Republicans warned the agency against reclassifying broadband as a Communications Act Title II telecom service. Hill Republicans are widely expected to counter forthcoming FCC net neutrality rules in the next Congress. Some industry lobbyists wonder if lawmakers will revive a tool used to attack the agency’s initial rules in 2011.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted an emergency stay request that blocks the FCC from releasing confidential programming and retransmission consent documents to outside counsel connected with the Comcast/Time Warner Cable and AT&T/DirecTV mergers, said a court order released Friday. Though the FCC, the merging companies and Dish Network had argued that such a stay would delay the mergers, the court disagreed: “The agency has access to the relevant documents at issue in this matter and can continue to evaluate the proposed merger during the stay.” The stay is to remain in place until the court rules on a petition for review filed by a group of content companies that includes CBS, Disney and Viacom.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted an emergency stay request that blocks the FCC from releasing confidential programming and retransmission consent documents to outside counsel connected with the Comcast/Time Warner Cable and AT&T/DirecTV mergers, said a court order released Friday. Though the FCC, the merging companies and Dish Network had argued that such a stay would delay the mergers, the court disagreed: “The agency has access to the relevant documents at issue in this matter and can continue to evaluate the proposed merger during the stay.” The stay is to remain in place until the court rules on a petition for review filed by a group of content companies that includes CBS, Disney and Viacom.