A Comcast play for Fox nonbroadcast assets might carry less antitrust risk than Disney's bid for Fox assets, wrote International Center for Law and Economics Executive Director Geoffrey Manne in an issue brief Wednesday. Comcast said Wednesday it was preparing a bid for the Fox assets (see 1805230019). Comcast/Fox would be largely vertical, while Disney/Fox would be predominantly horizontal, and it's generally easier to get antirust approval for vertical deals, he said. That DOJ is challenging AT&T/Time Warner doesn't mean the agency has become more hostile to vertical deals overall, he said, saying the foreclosure effects that were a big part of DOJ's harm theory in AT&T/TW would be smaller or non-existent in Comcast/Fox. He said the theatrical film market is "undeniably competitive," with Disney as the largest major studio having 22 percent of the market last year. He said Comcast being an ISP as well as cable service cuts anticompetitive risks because New Comcast would have a bigger incentive to license content to even rival online video providers and drive broadband service. Meanwhile, Disney/Fox would give Disney a considerably large share of box office proceeds and link Fox's regional sports networks with Disney's ESPN, raising the risk New Disney would act anticompetitively on sports programming.
House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., sought a hearing Thursday on the reported unauthorized disclosure of wireless subscribers' real-time location data by LocationSmart and Securus. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., asked the FCC earlier this month to investigate reports about Securus' disclosure of the data via a location tracking service it was offering to law enforcement and prison officials. The FCC has since said it's investigating. Securus offered the service using data bought from location aggregation firm LocationSmart (see 180511062). “The issues raised by this incident” mirror those exposed in Cambridge Analytica's alleged misuse of Facebook users’ private information, which has itself drawn significant congressional scrutiny (see 1803200047, 1804060056, 1804100054, 1804110054 and 1804300029), Pallone said in a letter to House Commerce Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore. “The reports detailing the wide availability of consumers’ cell phone location information and the vulnerabilities in the relevant databases and systems that third-parties used to store this information suggest gaps in the law or enforcement.” A hearing “on how this information was made available is necessary to better understand whether the privacy protections in the Communications Act were violated and whether Congress needs to take action to ensure users’ data are protected,” Pallone said. The committee “shares the concerns raised and is considering the request,” a spokeswoman said.
House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., sought a hearing Thursday on the reported unauthorized disclosure of wireless subscribers' real-time location data by LocationSmart and Securus. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., asked the FCC earlier this month to investigate reports about Securus' disclosure of the data via a location tracking service it was offering to law enforcement and prison officials. The FCC has since said it's investigating. Securus offered the service using data bought from location aggregation firm LocationSmart (see 180511062). “The issues raised by this incident” mirror those exposed in Cambridge Analytica's alleged misuse of Facebook users’ private information, which has itself drawn significant congressional scrutiny (see 1803200047, 1804060056, 1804100054, 1804110054 and 1804300029), Pallone said in a letter to House Commerce Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore. “The reports detailing the wide availability of consumers’ cell phone location information and the vulnerabilities in the relevant databases and systems that third-parties used to store this information suggest gaps in the law or enforcement.” A hearing “on how this information was made available is necessary to better understand whether the privacy protections in the Communications Act were violated and whether Congress needs to take action to ensure users’ data are protected,” Pallone said. The committee “shares the concerns raised and is considering the request,” a spokeswoman said.
The House passed its version of the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-5515) Thursday 351-66 with several provisions that counter President Donald Trump's bid to reconsider the Department of Commerce's seven-year ban on U.S. companies selling telecom software and equipment to ZTE. The Senate Armed Services Committee, meanwhile, agreed to attach to its version of NDAA the Banking Committee-cleared Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (S-2098) that would limit Trump's ability to alter the Commerce ban, as expected (see 1805220057 and 1805230058). Trump administration officials attempted to quell rising rancor over the controversy via meetings with top Republicans. Commerce announced the ban in April (see 1804170018)
The House passed its version of the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-5515) Thursday 351-66 with several provisions that counter President Donald Trump's bid to reconsider the Department of Commerce's seven-year ban on U.S. companies selling telecom software and equipment to ZTE. The Senate Armed Services Committee, meanwhile, agreed to attach to its version of NDAA the Banking Committee-cleared Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (S-2098) that would limit Trump's ability to alter the Commerce ban, as expected (see 1805220057 and 1805230058). Trump administration officials attempted to quell rising rancor over the controversy via meetings with top Republicans. Commerce announced the ban in April (see 1804170018)
The House passed its version of the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-5515) Thursday 351-66 with several provisions that counter President Donald Trump's bid to reconsider the Department of Commerce's seven-year ban on U.S. companies selling telecom software and equipment to ZTE. The Senate Armed Services Committee, meanwhile, agreed to attach to its version of NDAA the Banking Committee-cleared Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (S-2098) that would limit Trump's ability to alter the Commerce ban, as expected (see 1805220057 and 1805230058). Trump administration officials attempted to quell rising rancor over the controversy via meetings with top Republicans. Commerce announced the ban in April (see 1804170018)
Commissioner Brendan Carr promised more FCC action is on the way on changes to wireless infrastructure rules, in an interview on C-SPAN’s The Communicators recorded Wednesday. Carr said he's “actively looking” at ways to speed up siting decisions and steps the FCC can take “to make sure that we’re all moving in the same direction in terms of promoting the deployment of this new infrastructure.” The episode is expected to be televised this weekend and put online Friday.
Movie studios and regional sports networks (RSNs) could become antitrust sticking points for a proposed Comcast buy of Fox's nonbroadcast assets, antitrust experts told us. Comcast said Wednesday it's preparing an all-cash offer for the same Fox nonbroadcasting assets that Fox agreed to sell to Disney. It said the structure and terms of its offer, and the regulatory risk provisions, "would be at least as favorable to Fox shareholders as the Disney offer."
Movie studios and regional sports networks (RSNs) could become antitrust sticking points for a proposed Comcast buy of Fox's nonbroadcast assets, antitrust experts told us. Comcast said Wednesday it's preparing an all-cash offer for the same Fox nonbroadcasting assets that Fox agreed to sell to Disney. It said the structure and terms of its offer, and the regulatory risk provisions, "would be at least as favorable to Fox shareholders as the Disney offer."
Movie studios and regional sports networks (RSNs) could become antitrust sticking points for a proposed Comcast buy of Fox's nonbroadcast assets, antitrust experts told us. Comcast said Wednesday it's preparing an all-cash offer for the same Fox nonbroadcasting assets that Fox agreed to sell to Disney. It said the structure and terms of its offer, and the regulatory risk provisions, "would be at least as favorable to Fox shareholders as the Disney offer."