A GAO report on broadcaster sharing agreements issued last week (http://1.usa.gov/1nOn1nv) could be used to support arguments both for and against FCC regulation of those arrangements, public interest and broadcast attorneys told us. The report concluded that the FCC has little data on the prevalence of such agreements, and that the agency needs to decide if it must have that information to regulate them (CD July 29 p14). “Without data and a fact-based analysis of how agreements are used, FCC cannot ensure that its current and future policies on broadcaster agreements serve the public interest,” said GAO. The FCC’s lack of information on such arrangements could be used to challenge the foundation for limits on joint sales arrangements, or could serve the interests of public interest groups challenging the FCC closure of the 2010 quadrennial review, attorneys told us.
The FCC Media Bureau approved Sinclair’s $963 million buy of Allbritton’s TV stations Thursday evening (http://bit.ly/1lAXiJr). Though commissioner offices are typically notified of Media Bureau actions on delegated authority 48 hours before they're announced, word of the Sinclair/Allbritton approval was not disseminated until the middle of the day Thursday, according to FCC officials. Industry officials have expected the deal to be approved this week since the Department of Justice signed off on it with a consent decree last week (CD July 22 p4). Although the approval was announced after our deadline, FCC officials told us the order accepts the concessions previously announced by Sinclair to come into compliance with the FCC’s rules on sharing arrangements, and conditions the deal on the same single station divestiture to Media General required by DOJ. The deal’s approval had a July 27 deadline that would have allowed either Sinclair or Allbritton to abandon the transaction.
A Mediacom petition urging the FCC to restrict programmers -- including broadcasters -- from requiring bundling and other concessions during content negotiations may find favor with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler but is unlikely to be acted on soon, several cable attorneys and industry officials told us in interviews Wednesday. “It would take a very courageous Commission to follow this approach,” said Andrew Schwartzman, senior counselor at Georgetown Law’s Institute for Public Representation. Though Wheeler’s support of rules banning joint retransmission consent negotiations by broadcasters indicates he might agree with some of Mediacom’s points, its petition is likely to be crowded out by the ongoing net neutrality and incentive auction proceedings and the host of large scale mergers facing the commission, numerous industry attorneys told us.
The FCC ramped up pressure on ISPs Wednesday to make certain they are providing customers with accurate information about their services. The agency released an enforcement advisory along with accompanying statements from Chairman Tom Wheeler and acting Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc.
The FCC ramped up pressure on ISPs Wednesday to make certain they are providing customers with accurate information about their services. The agency released an enforcement advisory along with accompanying statements from Chairman Tom Wheeler and acting Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc.
The FCC ramped up pressure on ISPs Wednesday to make certain they are providing customers with accurate information about their services. The agency released an enforcement advisory along with accompanying statements from Chairman Tom Wheeler and acting Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc.
Sinclair and Allbritton Communications will have to sell their interests in WHTM-TV Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Media General to proceed with their $963 million deal, said the U.S. Department of Justice in a consent decree filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. “Without the required divestiture, prices for broadcast television spot advertising would likely increase in parts of central Pennsylvania,” said DOJ in a news release Tuesday (http://1.usa.gov/U87NN5). The divestiture requirement echoes a plan to sell WHTM to Media General announced by Sinclair last month (CD June 24 p16). In a May letter to the Media Bureau, Sinclair said its plan to buy Allbritton’s TV stations must be completed by July 27 to remain viable, because the purchase agreement allows either party to terminate it July 28 (CD May 30 p1).
Net neutrality comments are due at the FCC Tuesday and most observers expect most key industry players to weigh in. Industry observers told us the battle lines are well drawn, but the comments are still likely to be closely read by the FCC and some could form the basis for eventual legal challenges to the rules. The FCC approved rules for the first time in December 2010, under former Chairman Julius Genachowski. In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned many of the rules (WID Jan 15 p1), virtually guaranteeing that net neutrality would be a big issue for Genachowski’s successor Tom Wheeler as well.
Net neutrality comments are due at the FCC Tuesday and most observers expect most key industry players to weigh in. Industry observers told us the battle lines are well drawn, but the comments are still likely to be closely read by the FCC and some could form the basis for eventual legal challenges to the rules. The FCC approved rules for the first time in December 2010, under former Chairman Julius Genachowski. In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned many of the rules (CD Jan 15 p1), virtually guaranteeing that net neutrality would be a big issue for Genachowski’s successor Tom Wheeler as well.
Net neutrality comments are due at the FCC Tuesday and most observers expect most key industry players to weigh in. Industry observers told us the battle lines are well drawn, but the comments are still likely to be closely read by the FCC and some could form the basis for eventual legal challenges to the rules. The FCC approved rules for the first time in December 2010, under former Chairman Julius Genachowski. In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned many of the rules, virtually guaranteeing that net neutrality would be a big issue for Genachowski’s successor Tom Wheeler as well.