The FCC shouldn’t stay a recent order requiring online video...
The FCC shouldn’t stay a recent order requiring online video distributors (OVDs) disclose certain confidential licensing information when seeking access to NBCUniversal programming, Comcast and NBCU said in recent filing. It responded to a request by six of the largest…
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media companies that the FCC stay a the Media Bureau order (CD Dec 20 p14). The order clarified that OVDs seeking to take advantage of the benchmark condition to the FCC’s order approving Comcast’s takeover of NBCU must disclose the contents of their agreements with peer media companies to Comcast’s outside attorneys and consultants. “The Content Companies’ Request for Stay reflects their collective and continued disagreement with the wisdom of the Benchmark condition; however it does not demonstrate any justification, immediate or otherwise,” for the order to be stayed, the filing said (http://xrl.us/bn73nt). The content companies probably won’t prevail on the merits of their arguments and won’t suffer irreparable harm absent a stay, the filing said. The bureau had authority to issue the order, because Comcast and NBCU’s request for clarification did not seek any modification to the commission-level order approving the underlying transaction, it said. The bureau’s order does not violate the Trade Secrets Act as the content companies claimed, Comcast/NBCU said. Attorneys for the content companies separately met with aides to commissioners Robert McDowell, Ajit Pai, Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel, an ex parte notice shows (http://xrl.us/bn73ob). CBS, Disney, News Corp., Sony Pictures Entertainment, Time Warner and Viacom said the clarification order “completely subverts the negotiation process that the Commission devised for use with the Benchmark Condition” and made “radical modifications” to the order approving Comcast/NBCU.