Regulatory approval for Disney's buy of Fox's entertainment assets should come "soon," Disney CEO Bob Iger said at the company's annual meeting Thursday. He said the ESPN Plus streaming service has more than 2 million subscribers, which "bodes well" for the Disney Plus streaming service launching later this year. He said some Fox businesses -- such as FX and the motion picture operations -- will keep the Fox brand after close. He said Disney Plus will include "the entire Disney motion picture library" plus original content. DOJ last year said it would seek to stop Disney/Fox unless 22 Fox regional sports networks were sold (see 1806270016).
Even with FCC progress in easing the infrastructure path to 5G deployment and extending broadband connectivity, industry officials at a Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council event Wednesday sought lower barriers to infrastructure deployment. Some commissioners also said the draft Telecom Act Section 706 broadband deployment report points to big progress in closing the digital divide.
A C-Band Alliance proposal for how CBA would protect earth stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band from interference from flexible use operations in the lower part of the band isn't winning over all critics. American Cable Association Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Ross Lieberman emailed that CBA's docket 18-122 posting Tuesday "fails to address the most pressing concerns ... like higher prices, lost programming, and foregone investments. CBA’s failure to acknowledge and offer solutions to these problems highlights why they are not suited -- whereas the FCC is -- to manage any reimbursement program for C-band users.”
The private sector is working on technology for tackling orbital debris problems, but it's not clear what the business case is to support that industry, space experts told us. Some said if anything drives commercial demand for such offerings in the next few years, it will be mandates such as could come from the FCC's orbital debris proceeding. The draft NPRM adopted in November (see 1811150028) includes questions about whether the FCC should require that satellite operators actively remove debris, acknowledging such operations "remain at the more experimental side" and "have significant costs."
Some form of broadband regulation is inevitable but may wait awhile for political heat around what's become a politicized issue to die down, said Public Knowledge CEO Gene Kimmelman in an interview posted Friday of the American Cable Association podcast. He told ACA CEO Matt Polka there's more agreement than disagreement over a "reasonable framework" of regulation. "We're in troubled times" due to a particularly polarized political process, even as a rapidly changing digital market requires an active Congress. He said advocates need to stick to substance and avoid hyperbole. Kimmelman is encouraged by interest on Capitol Hill for privacy legislation, which could be a galvanizing moment for Congress. He said any such legislation needs to lead to more transparency for and choice by consumers about what of their data is being handled and how, and perhaps nonnegotiable limits on how data can be used. Asked about the likelihood of a DOJ-led breakup of big tech companies, Kimmelman said there's "some logic" to that, but antitrust laws aren't "well equipped" for that and there needs instead to be a look at other government accountability tools to prevent discrimination and abuse. DOJ's intervening in vertical mergers like AT&T/Time Warner was "very refreshing," though the Justice loss in court was disappointing. He hopes that won't dissuade Justice in the future. Kimmelman said Nexstar/Tribune will surely face the same regulatory scrutiny about concentration in local markets and calls for some station divestiture, but they're likely more willing to work with the government than Sinclair was, so the deal is more likely to go ahead.
Technology “can be a force for good,” but parents, the academic and medical community and lawmakers need better understanding of how tech use and media consumption by youth is affecting attention spans, sleeping, eating and exercise patterns, said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Tuesday. He and co-sponsor Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., rolled out the reintroduced Children and Media Research Advancement (CAMRA) Act. Markey said the bill would fund a five-year, $95 million National Institutes of Health initiative on the impact of various tech and media on cognitive, physical and socio-emotional development. They said the research was to look at the effects of mobile devices and apps, social media, movies, TV and videogames.
With an appellate court Tuesday deciding DOJ didn't prove the case for stopping AT&T's buy of Time Warner (see 1902260017), Justice threw in the towel on any further challenges (see 1902260067). Experts had widely expected that.
The FCC North American Numbering Council, which isn't recommending use of a three-digit dialing code for a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline (see 1902140044), is being asked to revise its draft report with answers to new questions. In a letter dated Friday from Wireline Bureau Chief Kris Monteith, posted Monday in docket 18-336, NANC is directed to answer such questions as, if the FCC does go the three-digit dialing code route, what N11 or non-N11 code would it recommend and which existing N11 code would it recommend for expansion if it opts to go that route. It also told NANC to consult with the North American Numbering Plan administrator about what codes might be best suited and how that would affect North American Numbering Plan exhaust. It said if NANC recommends repurposing an existing N11 dialing, the answer of which should be accompanied with use data for that code compared to other codes from as large a service provider sample as possible. It said NANC should detail actions needed to implement whatever three-digit code it recommends and a timeline for implementation. NANC's Numbering Administration Oversight Working Group has an April 11 deadline for getting that information to NANC, with NANC then having a May 13 deadline for getting the report to the bureau. A Veterans Affairs Department report posted Friday said since its 2016 expansion of its 24/7 Veterans Crisis Line call centers, calls no longer are routinely routed to a contracted backup center and the rollover rate went from 39.16 percent of calls in FY 2016 to 0.16 percent in FY 2018, as call volumes grew. It said 98.05 percent of calls are answered within 20 seconds and 1.7 percent of calls disconnected more than five seconds before being responded to. A Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration report to the FCC posted Friday said average longest wait for an answer at the federally funded Lifeline 10-digit national hotline rose 29 percent April 2017-April 2018. It said an N11 would be easier to remember, leading to higher volume, and be more effective than the 1-800 number used now. It said high-performing crisis center to responding to a crisis call costs roughly $25 per call, so an N11 system -- if it doubled the volume of calls Lifeline handles now -- would necessitate $50 million in additional funding.
The Supreme Court's decision on the operator of Manhattan's public access channels being sued for allegedly violating the First Amendment rights of content producers banned from it (see 1810170027) could largely depend on the meaning of first come, first served. That was a central issue in oral argument Monday. A decision is likely in May or June, both sides told us. April is possible though that would be notably quick, said respondents' counsel Paul Hughes of Mayer Brown.
The FCC expects to act this year on a small satellite authorization streamlining draft NPRM adopted by commissioners in April (see 1804170038), Karl Kensinger, International Bureau Satellite Division deputy chief, said at an American Bar Association panel Friday. An increased area of concern is the potential for interference to incumbent operations from experimental and university satellites owners interested in using low-band frequencies, he said.