Preston Padden is leading advocacy for a group of broadcasters...
Preston Padden is leading advocacy for a group of broadcasters who want to be sure the FCC incentive spectrum auction is a success. The new group, called the Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition, will focus its efforts on working with…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
the FCC to make sure its auction rules “maximize the auction’s chance to succeed,” Padden said. But the group won’t disclose its members. “The auction statute makes it a crime to disclose the identity of stations participating in the auction,” Padden said. “The FCC has carried that same non-disclosure forward in its notice of proposed rulemaking.” But the group’s members include broadcasters who are “open to the idea of participating if the auction is structured the right way,” Padden said. The group is not meant to conflict with the NAB’s advocacy on the auction, Padden said. “This effort is complementary to the NAB,” he said. An NAB spokesman said the association will continue to engage with its members, the FCC and others to develop an auction “that allows volunteer broadcasters to be adequately compensated for leaving the business while holding harmless TV stations that remain on the air.” Padden is a former president-network distribution for Fox Broadcasting, president of ABC Television Network, executive vice president-government relations for Disney, and president of the Association of Independent Television Stations.