Discrepancies in how the FCC handles evidence in program carriage cases ought to be resolved by remanding an independent programmer’s failed complaint against four major cable operators to the agency, the indie said. WealthTV said the commission in last year’s order finding against its complaint against Bright House Networks, Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable should have found those defendants had the burden of proof and not the plaintiff. The appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cited various recommendations in recent years by administrative law judges in other cases and by the Media Bureau. Many were not approved by the full agency.
FCC cancellation of LightSquared’s ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) authorization won’t be the end of the LightSquared saga, said Executive Vice President Jeff Carlisle, speaking at the Satellite 2012 conference Monday. The FCC has proposed pulling LightSquared’s ATC authorization and an associated waiver that would have allowed the company to sell terrestrial service without including satellite component. Comments on the proposals are due Friday.
FCC nominees’ chances of Senate confirmation remain uncertain even if Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, lifts his hold on confirmation of Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel, communications industry lobbyists said. A House Commerce Committee request for LightSquared documents from the FCC could appease Grassley, but political dynamics in the Senate may still stand in the way of confirming new commissioners, they said. Top House Commerce members indicated last week that the committee would share with Grassley.
Interests of cable operators and the Big Four broadcast TV networks aligned in what some called a rarity late last week. The owners of the ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC networks backed encryption of cable’s basic programming tier (CD March 2 p4) that includes signals of their affiliates by all-digital cable systems. It’s the first time cable programmers have directly weighed in on an FCC rulemaking proposing to let operators scramble basic channels to cut down on signal theft of unencrypted signals and let companies turn on and off service without technician visits to subscribers. The most vociferous consumer electronics manufacturer against encryption continued to oppose it: Boxee said broadcasters added no new reasons for the commission to act.
Cable rates increased at a rate higher than inflation again in 2009, an FCC survey of cable operator prices during that year found. Basic cable rates increased at a higher rate than rates for expanded tier service, the survey found. On a per-channel basis, rates didn’t increase as quickly.
The question of if the FCC should make all TV stations put political ad information on the commission’s website (CD March 2 p7) changed focus at least briefly to shine on another agency. The question is if 2002 campaign finance legislation solely makes the Federal Election Commission the place for such disclosure, or whether the FCC also has a role. The NAB said the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) doesn’t give the FCC authority to implement the FCC proposal to move political-ad files and much of the rest of public-inspection files from TV stations’ main studios to the Internet. A longtime advocate for such disclosure said the BCRA -- often referred to as the McCain-Feingold bill after its main sponsors -- doesn’t preclude the commission from acting, and few details about political TV spots are available in FEC filings.
Broadcasters haven’t seen the last of a Democratic amendment requiring more disclosure regarding political ads. House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., said in an interview Friday that she plans to offer it again when FCC reform legislation (HR-3309) reaches the House floor. Broadcasters oppose the amendment due to liability concerns, and separately have been opposing proposed FCC rules to require all TV stations’ political-ad files to go online. (See separate report in this issue.)
It is “absolutely essential” for Congress to encourage better cybersecurity protection for America’s critical infrastructure sectors, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Maine, told C-SPAN’s The Communicators in an interview scheduled to air Saturday. Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., a co-sponsor of the Cybersecurity Act (S-2105), said on the same program that critical infrastructure protections must be included in Congress’s approach to cybersecurity.
The FCC Thursday ordered Verizon Wireless, the SpectrumCo partners and Cox to file mostly unredacted versions of the marketing agreements they signed as part of a broader deal that includes the sale of AWS licenses to the carrier. The letter (http://xrl.us/bmxh5j) was signed by Wireless Bureau Chief Rick Kaplan and outlined a ruling that had been sought by opponents of the spectrum deals. He asked Verizon Wireless and the cable operators for the documents by the end of Monday.
Verizon Wireless’s plan to buy AWS licenses from SpectrumCo and Cox is likely to be rejected, or conditioned in a way that will make it far less attractive to the companies involved, in the wake of the death of the AT&T/T-Mobile deal, ex-FCC Chief Economist Alan Pearce said Thursday. Now at Information Age Economics, he said during a Law Seminars International AT&T/T-Mobile teleconference that the days when the FCC won’t stand up to oppose industry consolidation are clearly over.