With one Missouri community attempting to levy fees on Netflix and Hulu like it does cable TV, other states and localities are likely to try to head down the same road, experts told us. “I don't know that anybody is jumping on the bandwagon per se but I think [other communities] are interested in seeing how [the city's litigation] plays out," said Creve Coeur, Missouri, Mayor Barry Glantz.
Disney/Fox will likely shed its Sky stake, but Hulu's fate is unclear, said analysts after Comcast's $40 billion auction bid over the weekend that was accepted by Sky's independent committee (see here). Comcast will likely follow up with deal that has it buying the rest of Sky from Disney/Fox "for the same stupendous price," and possibly as part of a swap where Disney takes Comcast's stake in Hulu, MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett wrote Monday. He downgraded Comcast stock to neutral. He said Sky could be "an albatross" for Comcast given its satellite TV business and that satellite video distribution "is increasingly becoming obsolete." He said expanding Sky's nascent over-the-top business will be a challenge, with a variety of programmers going direct to consumer, meaning Comcast will have to ramp up creation of its own video content. BTIG's Richard Greenfield wrote investors Monday that given cord-cutting and cord-shaving trends, Disney/Fox and Comcast/Sky are "actually depressing" examples of legacy media staying locked in a comfort zone. He said Disney/Fox will likely tender its Sky stake as part of Comcast's offer to Sky shareholders since there's not an obvious strategic benefit to Disney/Fox remaining an investor in Sky. The analyst said Disney wants Comcast's Hulu stake, but Comcast isn't likely to sell since it can thus prevent Hulu from becoming a Disney-branded OTT service. He said with the Sky deal, Comcast is signaling that a deal for Charter Communications seems unlikely and that U.S. expansion isn't a priority. Instead, Discovery could be the next acquisition target for Comcast given Discovery's investments in Europe in recent years, Greenfield said. Comcast plans to keep its stake in Hulu, an informed person said. U.K. M&A rules are such that it couldn't make a side deal with Disney to sell its portion, the person noted. Comcast didn't comment. The company closed down 6 percent at $35.63.
The ways the FCC and antitrust agencies like DOJ evaluate deals can diverge widely, said experts Saturday at American University-hosted annual Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy. Steptoe & Johnson's Jon Sallet said the FCC's big question is often what range of policy options are "reasonable" under the Chevron doctrine of judicial deference to agencies, and what record would support a decision made within that range, while at DOJ the focus was on how does one convince a judge, with the burden of proof being on government to prove its case.
Rethinking how the FAA authorizes rocket launches and staying competitive internationally with nations increasingly becoming space regulation specialists are on the nation’s long to-do list to promote the growing private sector interest in space, regulatory experts said at a Nebraska College of Law space law conference Friday.
Turning over nondisclosure agreements signed by FCC commissioners or other staff would reveal staffers who now have or have had access to classified materials, which could subject them to harassment and unwanted attention, the agency said Wednesday, denying our Freedom of Information Act request. It said such a request fell under FOIA exemptions 6 and 7(E), covering personnel files that would constitute an invasion of personal privacy and records that would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations, respectively. The agency provided a blank Standard Form 312, the federal government's classified information nondisclosure agreement.
Pushback from some major cities against the draft order on next week's agenda on local and state regulatory authority over small-cell deployments (see 1809140012) is no surprise, since those markets will enjoy 5G rollout regardless of what potentially onerous regulatory burdens they enforce, said FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr at a Media Institute lunch Thursday. Earlier that day, he likewise defended the order at another event (see 1809200007). He told the luncheon that the support the FCC has gotten from smaller cities and rural areas for the draft order is more important than concerns. He said cutting regulatory burdens for deployment is expected to free up sizable economic resources that then change the business case for deploying in smaller communities. The draft order is patterned in many ways after laws in multiple states on small-cell deployment, with "reasonable" caps on fees and shot clocks for dealing with applications, he said. Asked about lack of a "deemed granted" provision in the draft order, he said that wasn't seen necessary because of the shot clock language. Carr sounded what have become familiar themes about the heated U.S.-China rivalry over leading in 5G deployment. The last such major tech inflection point was the move from 3G to 4G, and the U.S. global dominance then "transformed our economy," Carr said, saying China sees being first in 5G as "a chance to flip the script" and dominate tech space. He said, along with freeing up spectrum for 5G, the U.S. has an "infrastructure challenge."
The American Cable Association, NAB and NCTA are talking about a compromise position on FCC must-carry/retransmission consent election notifications procedures rules, an informed person told us Tuesday. Those talks have been productive and the parties believe they can come to a solution that addresses what's an otherwise clunky system. Representatives of the three groups last week met with Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey to discuss that possible compromise position, recounted a docket 17-317 posting Tuesday. The groups said the possible compromise would have stations retain their status from a previous election and would be required to send notice to a cable operator only if the stations desired to change their status. They said the broadcaster’s notice would be sent to an email address listed on a cable operator’s online public file or in the FCC Cable Operations and Licensing System. They said the default election provision would remain unchanged. The elections issue was part of the cable electronic notifications NPRM adopted in December (see 1712140054).
The deadline for C-band earth station registration is 30 days away and the broadcast industry and satellite operators are urging earth station operators to register with the FCC, even as it's unclear what ramifications might be for those who don't. Some broadcasters -- blanching at the $435-per-earth station registration expense -- decided they won't register "and will just roll with it and hope for the best," Society of Broadcast Engineers President Jim Leifer told us. The FCC didn't comment.
With OneWeb seeing more pushback against its plans for additional satellites in its planned Ku- and Ka- and V-band constellations (see 1808080003), those challenges could face a hurdle as some experts see the FCC as likely to OK qualified non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) applications. Though it's inclined to approve the new constellations, the agency is going to be very conservative with handing out waivers and stretching the rules, a satellite lawyer told us. One example is the FCC apparently looking askance at Boeing's attempt to hand off two NGSO applications to SOM1101, which ultimately resulted in Boeing withdrawing that request and the applications (see 1808060005), the lawyer said. OneWeb didn't comment Friday.
Though repurposing some of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band for 5G seems inevitable, the path via the Intelsat/Intel/SES band clearing plan remains littered with unanswered questions, an FCBA event heard Tuesday. Promised reimbursement of the cost of migrating incumbent users of the C-band to a different part would be useful but doesn't solve the problem of potentially higher operating costs year after year, said Michael Beach, NPR vice president-distribution. SES Senior Vice President-Global Regulatory and Governmental Strategy Gerry Oberst said the consortium is hammering out fine details, such as reimbursement.