The judge overseeing U.S. v. AT&T and Time Warner might be considering reworking or amending the arbitration and no blackouts affiliation offer Turner made to MVPDs (see 1711280063). At the end of testimony Wednesday by Charter Communications Executive Vice President-Programming Acquisition Tom Montemagno, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon of Washington asked Montemagno if different arbitration terms, such as "non-baseball-style arbitration," might assuage some fears about the Turner offer. DOJ witnesses raised red flags about perceived shortcomings (see 1803260047 and 1803220033).
Miguel Gamiño, New York City chief technology officer who last week resigned from a Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee working group, told us he questions the integrity of the group in light of his and other defections. Other officials said at the Wireless Connect event (see 1804040042) Wednesday that they are hopeful FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will appoint more local representatives to the group. BDAC officials said the organization's work could continue into next year, possibly with new local government officials to replace those who resigned (see 1804030066).
Turner's arbitration and no blackouts offer to distributors to assuage government antitrust concerns of AT&T's planned buy of Time Warner (see 1711280063) leaves Turner at a significant disadvantage in negotiations, Turner Vice President-Content Distribution Richard Warren testified Tuesday in U.S. v. AT&T and TW. An adverse witness for DOJ, Warren under cross-examination said he didn't find Justice's belief that New AT&T would use Turner blackouts against rival distributors "a realistic perspective."
The FCC hopes this month to begin transferring USF assets from a commercial bank to the U.S. Treasury, said Deena Shetler, acting deputy managing director, at an FCBA event Tuesday. She said the shift won't fundamentally change the subsidy program, which will still be subject to FCC rules and Universal Service Administrative Co. management. USF recipients will be essentially unaffected, other than receiving payments from the Treasury instead of Bank of America, she said. Industry contributors to the fund will have to shift to a government payment portal, but are expected to have better online account access, said Fred Theobald, USAC director-financial operations. Some continue to have concerns.
Media industries affected by the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act are actively discussing factors that could shape the coming debate over whether -- and how -- to reauthorize the statute. Lawmakers said the bulk of Capitol Hill discussions on the process are likely to wait until the 116th Congress convenes next year, and others said newer video entrants may be discussed in the rechartering effort. The 2014 STELA recertification bill extended the statute through the end of 2019 (see 1411200036 and 1412040067). The outcome of that process likely will depend greatly on which party wins majority control in the House and Senate in November's elections, industry officials and lobbyists told us.
The FCC Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee appears likely to have a second act well beyond its planned April 25 meeting, where it's expected to consider controversial model codes for states and municipalities. One possibility is that with its main work largely over, the BDAC will start to look more like a normal Federal Advisory Committee Act group, with members assigned additional work, members said. Terms on BDAC are to run two years under the committee’s charter, though they can end earlier as determined by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. Members were appointed a year ago. The panel may also get additional local government members, after facing heavy scrutiny over lacking many.
The Supreme Court should dismiss U.S. v. Microsoft as moot because the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act answers questions about police access to data abroad, DOJ filed Friday (see 1802270052). With inclusion of the Cloud Act (see 1802140062) in the omnibus spending bill, Microsoft no longer has any basis to suggest a warrant is impermissibly extraterritorial, DOJ argued. The agency applied for a new warrant under the law, which a magistrate judge issued Friday. The government is now “unquestionably entitled” to require Microsoft to disclose foreign-stored data under the Stored Communications Act, DOJ argued.
Turner has used HBO as leverage in MVPD affiliation negotiations, Turner Classic Movies President Coleman Breland testified Monday in U.S. v. AT&T and Time Warner. Breland -- who until last year was Turner's head of content acquisition and negotiations, was called by DOJ as an adverse witness. The agency spent part of the day walking Breland through Turner emails covering such topics as strategy and the array of near-blackouts the company saw in recent years.
NTCA is the latest group to express concerns about an NPRM teed up for a vote at the April 17 commissioners’ meeting proposing to bar use of money in any USF program to buy equipment or services from companies that “pose a national security threat” to U.S. communications networks or the communications supply chain (see 1803260037). The draft NPRM cites a 2012 report by the House Intelligence Committee raising concerns about Chinese equipment makers Huawei and ZTE.
Momentum could be growing for transparency bills that would require public notice and comment before using new surveillance technologies, privacy advocates said in interviews. Several California localities passed or are close to passing measures, and local politicians in other states also are promising measures. A California Senate panel plans to take up a bill Tuesday. Advocates said the state bill could be stronger, but law enforcement remains opposed to what it says could guide criminals.