If the cable exclusivity prohibition sunsets, then programming potentially available...
If the cable exclusivity prohibition sunsets, then programming potentially available for Comcast exclusivity would increase substantially, DirecTV said in an ex parte filing in dockets 12-68, 07-18 and 05-192 (http://xrl.us/bnpmzz). The sole program access remedy specifically available under the Comcast-NBCUniversal…
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merger conditions is commercial arbitration, DirecTV said. While arbitration can be a powerful remedy, “no one should think that arbitration fulfills the same function as the exclusivity prohibition, or that it would be sufficient in the absence of the prohibition,” it said. The merger order “implicitly assumed that the arbitration condition would work in tandem with the exclusivity prohibition to provide the full spectrum of protections necessary to offset the vertical integration effects of the transaction.” Allowing the rule to sunset could compromise that, DirecTV added. The filing recounted a phone conference with DirecTV, the FCC Office of Strategic Planning & Policy Analysis and Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake.