E.W. Scripps’s $521 million buy of 15 TV stations from Cordillera Communications isn’t expected to run into regulatory problems. The deal and spinoffs acquired as part of the pending Gray Television/Raycom deal would put Scripps’ reach at 21 percent of U.S. households -- the cap is 39 percent -- and the Scripps purchase doesn’t include any overlaps or combinations that require top four approval from the FCC, Scripps executives said in a conference call and release Monday.
T-Mobile's broadside at Dish Network's IoT plans is likely at least partially payback for Dish's opposition to T-Mobile buying Sprint, experts told us. The timing of the wireless company's letter to FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Don Stockdale (see 1810260047) -- a month after Dish joined public interest and consumer groups and representatives of mostly rural carriers in opposition (see 1808280038) -- reads as "sour grapes retribution," said Gigi Sohn, Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law and Policy fellow. Dish fought back.
Though it's unclear what will come out of the comprehensive national spectrum strategy ordered by President Donald Trump last week (see 1810250018), industry officials said government is right to do everything it can, given the escalating demands for spectrum amid coming 5G. Some are skeptical.
The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield is working as intended, American software industry groups told us, and companies expect the program to be extended at the end of the current review, as do some in Europe (see 1810170028). A privacy advocate also expects extension but warned officials are avoiding the bigger issue -- lack of cohesion between U.S. and EU surveillance laws. Two other privacy advocates expect the FTC’s ongoing Facebook-Cambridge Analytica probe to heavily influence negotiations pending EU recommendations for the agreement.
Arizona and other state commission candidates are making transparency a top issue as they approach Nov. 6. Accountability is an election issue in nearly half of the 10 states electing utilities commissioners (see 1810110031). In interviews last week, Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) candidates from both parties said they want to improve agency ethics, and Democrats in Alabama, Montana and New Mexico said increasing public participation is key at agencies suffering from low public awareness. All were scathing about commission practices.
White House tariffs on steel are beginning to increase prices for companies involved in the post-incentive auction repacking, but the tariffs aren’t pushing up costs as much as competition for crews and resources is, said antenna and tower industry officials in interviews. “The main thing increasing the costs are the crew prices,” said Electronics Research Inc. Vice President-Marketing Bill Harland. “It’s an impact,” said FDH Infrastructure Business Development Manager Don Doty of the tariffs. “But the repack itself -- the demand -- is raising prices higher.”
California agreed not to enforce its new net neutrality law (SB-822) while appeal of the FCC’s order rescinding the 2015 national rules is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and possibly the Supreme Court. The state agreed to delay enforcement in a pleading with the U.S. District Court for Eastern California. The state was scheduled to respond to the motion for a preliminary injunction Friday, but the parties informed the judge they had reached a deal. ISP groups (see 1810030036) and DOJ (see 1809210059) challenged the California law in cases before that district court.
LOS ANGELES -- With the CBS All Access over-the-top service, “we’re looking at higher resolutions right now,” Robert Seidel, CBS vice president-engineering and advanced technology, told the SMPTE conference. Streaming content at 4K resolutions increases “storage requirements quite a bit for a typical file,” he said Wednesday.
With Sky under Comcast's belt, analysts see the obvious next big step a major leap into over-the-top offerings. NBCUniversal CEO Stephen Burke, in an earnings call Thursday, said while the world pivots toward more streaming, the company wants to "protect and nurture" its pay-TV business. He said industry has rushed into streaming, but economics are challenging.
Consumer groups are asking the California Public Utilities Commission to reconsider a recommendation to deny consumer advocates’ petition for rulemaking to update privacy rules for wireless carriers. The CPUC postponed by two weeks votes that had been scheduled Thursday on denying stricter consumer proprietary network information (CPNI) rules (see 1809210037), and separate items approving Frontier and AT&T reparations for 2017 service-quality violations (see 1809180013). Commissioner Carla Peterman announced Thursday she won’t seek reappointment when her term expires at year-end.