Walden Warns NAB of Post-STELA Media Policy Revamp Interest

House Commerce Committee ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., warned NAB members not to “take anything for granted” because of the STELA win (see 1912240001). “There’s still an appetite” on the Hill for addressing retransmission consent rules and other media policy revamp measures (see 1912310001), Walden said. “Your distribution partners were not thrilled” with parts of the STELA measure “and are no doubt preparing, perhaps, for one last Hail Mary push before” the May 31 deadline for satellite providers using the distant-signal license to serve all 210 designated market areas.

“I’m told some of my colleagues in the Senate are assessing the feasibility of a Telecom Act rewrite,” which could be a vehicle for a retrans revamp, Walden said. He referenced the Modern Television Act (HR-3994). That bill would repeal parts of the 1992 Cable Act, including retrans rules (see 1907290053). Walden later told reporters he’s “not aware” of any immediate Senate efforts to seek a Telecom Act rewrite, but “you keep hearing” about lawmakers’ interest. “My message to broadcasters is if you think it’s over because [STELA] has been put in the ash bin of history, think again, because there will be renewed efforts” to look at other media issues, he said.

Berry demurred from announcing an FCC appeal of Prometheus IV to the Supreme Court but said DOJ wouldn’t have asked for an extension of the petition deadline if there weren’t “serious” interest in a push. NAB and several broadcasters received an extension last week until March 19 to file certiorari petitions with the Supreme Court (see 2002190046). “I do not think that we have a meaningful chance of making changes to the status quo” at the 3rd Circuit given the wording of the Prometheus IV decision absent a Supreme Court intervention, Berry said. That ruling “shows how far this proceeding has gone off the rails.”

Antitrust Probe

House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I., said he believes the House Judiciary Committee’s ongoing investigation into tech sector competition (see 1906110072">1906110072) will help address online platforms’ “anti-competitive conduct … that has gone unchecked by Congress and unchallenged by antitrust enforcers.” These “trends suggest that the decline of the news industry is not the inevitable result of the arrival of the Internet or the loss of classified advertisements in local news,” he said. “Instead, this decline is a consequence of enforcement choices that have created a market where a small number of platforms are able to capture the value created by journalists and publishers.”

Cicilline doesn’t “have any preconceived ideas about what the right answer is” to the competition issues House Judiciary is probing. "It has been a top priority to approach this investigation with the sense of urgency and serious deliberation that it demands, and we will continue this important work on a bipartisan basis,” he said.

Cicilline told reporters after his appearance he's preparing to introduce legislation that would alter Communications Decency Act Section 230. The general thrust, he added, is to open up platforms like Facebook and Google to liability for hosting demonstrably false political ads.

Cicilline’s "witch-hunt against online business has blinded him to the reality that competition is robust" in tech, responded NetChoice General Counsel Carl Szabo. "Based on these and other statements from Rep. Cicilline, I worry the House Report will simply parrot anti-tech presumptions rather than provide an actual competition analysis.” Szabo, who spoke and emailed with us after the speech, didn't hear it but heard reports of what was said.

The Internet Association declined to comment, directing us to NetChoice for a response to Cicilline.

C Band

Broadcasters affected by the coming C-band auction should “expect a smooth transition” off the spectrum under the terms of the draft plan set for a Friday FCC vote (see 2002210046), Berry said. Evidence in the proceeding record shows the transition timeline the FCC envisions “is a realistic one” and that all “reasonable” relocation costs will be paid for. He’s “optimistic about where things stand.”

There was no serious headway in negotiations among House Commerce leaders on a compromise C-band auction proceeds allocation measure during the Presidents Day recess, though there “was some staff work on that over the break,” Walden told reporters. “We’re not there yet,” but “I think it will now resume once members” return from the break. The House reconvenes Tuesday. Walden has been working with House Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., on the bill (see 2002070044).

Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., touted his Expanding Broadcast Ownership Opportunities Act (HR-3957). The bill and Senate companion S-2433 would restore the minority tax certificate. The measure is among the issues NAB members plan to discuss during Hill meetings. House Communications examined HR-3957 during a January hearing (see 2001150074).

Butterfield later told us he hasn’t secured a commitment from House Commerce leaders to mark up the bill but is working to sign up more Republican co-sponsors. “Once we get a few more co-sponsors, we’re ready to execute a plan” to advance it through the committee, he said. Walden told reporters he’s “supportive of” the bill, but “we’re trying to work out some of the specifics.” It’s “important to find ways to get minority ownership increased in this industry” and the tax certificate program “did help achieve that when it was in place,” he said. HR-3957 currently has 28 cosponsors.