A point of agreement between independent and diverse programmers and major content companies was that many parties in the FCC indie programming notice of inquiry have cited practices like bundling as inimical to a fair and competitive market. Otherwise, the programmers and content companies diverge sharply, with CBS, Time Warner, 21st Century Fox, Viacom and Walt Disney calling such arguments "a rehash," while a number of indie programmers and allies said it was clear those programmers face an uphill struggle getting onto multichannel video programming distributors' channels. "There is widespread agreement that independent programmers face significant obstacles in reaching consumers," RFD-TV said in a filing posted Wednesday in docket 16-41.
A broad group of industry associations asked the FCC to delay by 45 days the deadlines for filing comments on the ISP privacy rulemaking. After the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) had asked the agency to extend the comment deadlines 60 days (see 1604130054), industry observers said they didn’t think the FCC was inclined to provide more time (see 1604150075). The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also filed in support of an extension. Wireline Bureau Chief Matt Del Nero is to discuss the NPRM at an FCBA seminar Friday.
A broad group of industry associations asked the FCC to delay by 45 days the deadlines for filing comments on the ISP privacy rulemaking. After the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) had asked the agency to extend the comment deadlines 60 days (see 1604130054), industry observers said they didn’t think the FCC was inclined to provide more time (see 1604150075). The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also filed in support of an extension. Wireline Bureau Chief Matt Del Nero is to discuss the NPRM at an FCBA seminar Friday.
A broad group of industry associations asked the FCC to delay by 45 days the deadlines for filing comments on the ISP privacy rulemaking. After the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) had asked the agency to extend the comment deadlines 60 days (see 1604130054), industry observers said they didn’t think the FCC was inclined to provide more time (see 1604150075). The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also filed in support of an extension. Wireline Bureau Chief Matt Del Nero is to discuss the NPRM at an FCBA seminar Friday.
Conditions proposed by a California administrative law judge on Charter Communications' purchase of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable likely won't influence the FCC's decision on the deals, cable experts told us. The FCC is on a different track from any state, and California's proceeding won't factor into the agency's process or deliberations, said a media attorney with transaction experience and who previously worked at the FCC. Other states have OK'd the deals, and in California, deal opponents have sought to block the takeovers (see 1601200060).
Conditions proposed by a California administrative law judge on Charter Communications' purchase of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable likely won't influence the FCC's decision on the deals, cable experts told us. The FCC is on a different track from any state, and California's proceeding won't factor into the agency's process or deliberations, said a media attorney with transaction experience and who previously worked at the FCC. Other states have OK'd the deals, and in California, deal opponents have sought to block the takeovers (see 1601200060).
Justice Department's Bill Baer, assistant attorney general, Antitrust Division, named acting associate attorney general, effective April 17 and succeeding Stuart Delery ... McGlinchey Stafford hires Brian Koide, tech patent expert/attorney, as member, Intellectual Property/Commercial Litigation team ... Mozilla hires Sean White, ex-BrightSky Labs, as vice president-technology strategy, "with an initial focus on emerging technology opportunities" in virtual reality, augmented reality and connected devices ... Entertainment Software Association names Anastasia Staten, ex-American Humane Association, executive director, ESA Foundation ... National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications promotes James Jones to senior vice president-education and diversity solutions, and Sandra Girado to vice president-events and partner relations ... NewsON hires Derek Van Nostran, ex-CNN, as head-marketing.
Justice Department's Bill Baer, assistant attorney general-Antitrust Division, named acting associate attorney general, effective April 17 and succeeding Stuart Delery ... McGlinchey Stafford hires Brian Koide, tech patent expert/attorney, as member, Intellectual Property/Commercial Litigation team ... Mozilla hires Sean White, ex-BrightSky Labs, as vice president-technology strategy, "with an initial focus on emerging technology opportunities" in virtual reality, augmented reality and connected devices ... Entertainment Software Association names Anastasia Staten, ex-American Humane Association, executive director, ESA Foundation ... American Association of Independent Music hires A&R expert Patrick Ferrell as member relations manager and Sheryl Cohen, ex-Gary Douglas Music and returning to the association, as manager-admin and special projects.
The Utility Reform Network (TURN) lined up several big consumer and labor groups against a California bill authorizing telcos to end legacy copper service in 2020. The TURN coalition against AB-2395 includes AARP California, Center for Accessible Technology, Communications Workers of America, National Consumer Law Center, National Hispanic Media Coalition and Public Citizen. A hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. PDT Wednesday on the bill, which would allow telcos in the state to transition to IP-based services in four years, if they first educate consumers about the transition (see 1603300054). TURN said the bill would authorize AT&T to strand many Californian customers who still rely on the copper network, including people in rural areas, low-income households, seniors and people with disabilities (see 1603290055). “Rather than modernizing phone service, this bill would take us back to the dark days when consumers were totally at the mercy of AT&T,” said TURN Executive Director Mark Toney Monday. “It will eliminate the most basic consumer protections, regardless of the enormous impact abandoning copper could have on emergency services and vital communications.” In a news conference Monday, AB-2395 sponsor Assembly Member Evan Low (D) called the bill a move toward the future: “California telecommunications law established in the 1950’s needs to be modernized so our state can continue to be the world’s innovation leader as well as the pioneer in addressing climate change. This legislation establishes a state policy for a clearly communicated, planned and orderly transition from the last vestiges of the outdated, and carbon unfriendly plain-old-telephone-service (POTS) network to modern, fiber-optic networks and services.” Local supporters include CALinnovates, the Congress of California Seniors, Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the San Jose Police Officers Association. The latter group’s vice president, James Gonzalez, responded directly to TURN’s claim the bill would make 911 less reliable for emergency calls, saying 75 percent of 911 calls “come from mobile phones, so we have to adapt to what consumers are using.”
Mozilla hires Sean White, ex-BrightSky Labs, as vice president-technology strategy, "with an initial focus on emerging technology opportunities" in virtual reality, augmented reality and connected devices ... Entertainment Software Association names Anastasia Staten, ex-American Humane Association, executive director, ESA Foundation ... American Association of Independent Music hires A&R expert Patrick Ferrell as member relations manager and Sheryl Cohen, ex-Gary Douglas Music and returning to the association, as manager-admin and special projects ... CLSA hires Chris Caso, ex-Susquehanna Financial, as managing director-senior research analyst, CLSA Americas, covering semiconductor devices industry ... New board members at OpenFog Consortium (see 1603100047): Greg Petroff, GE Digital; Pascal Brosset, Schneider Electric Global Solutions; Douglas Zuckerman, IEEE life fellow; and Russell Hsing, National Chiao Tung University ... Cognizant Technology Solutions elects to board Jonathan Chadwick, ex-VMware.