FCC May Approve More Non-DTV Items Under Copps
There are several non-DTV media items that FCC and industry officials believe can soon be addressed by the agency under acting Chairman Michael Copps, even as eighth- floor media aides spend most of their time on the digital transition. Our survey of about a dozen FCC officials, outside lawyers and industry executives found they think a vote on a video programming order for News Corp. circulated on Kevin Martin’s last workday as chairman (CD Jan 27 p3) is likely to take place under Copps’ so-called consensus agenda.
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An item highly unlikely to be on that agenda, in which a three-member commission moves forward on items with unanimous votes, is a petition from the Motion Picture Association of America for TV output control waivers for movie studios, said agency and industry officials. Martin said he wouldn’t draft an order approving the petition (CD Dec 31 p2). Because it raised some controversy among consumer and CE groups, Copps is unlikely to do so, either, said agency and industry officials. The MPAA still thinks “granting a waiver on selectable output controls is in the best interest of both consumers and our members,” said a spokeswoman for the group. “We look forward to bringing this issue before the FCC again once the commission is fully in place.”
Agreeing how Sirius XM should set aside channels for minorities and mandating how cable operators and telcos must treat public, educational and governmental channels are other potential items, the survey found. Copps “will continue working with his colleagues to move forward on pending items, particularly those that can be acted on by consensus,” said a commission spokesman. He declined to comment on whether the agency will address specific items.
Copps continues to do an “excellent job of keeping the commission moving forward while awaiting on the new chairman for major decisions,” Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said in a recent interview. He was referring to Obama nominee Julius Genachowski, whose nomination hearing in the Senate has not been set. “We need to continue to keep the train moving here and set the table for the new commission,” Adelstein said. “But at the same time we're tackling important issues and moving things forward.”
Issues Copps likely will move forward on are those that are far along at the FCC, said communications lawyer Bert Carp. For broadcasters, “everyone is so DTV-focused that I think that’s clearly your media agenda for the next month,” said David Donovan, president of the Association for Maximum Service Television.
An order on three petitions to define how AT&T, Comcast and others must treat public access channels might get a push under Copps, said agency and industry officials. The petitions, filed by cities and a PEG group, seek treatment similar to how other types of cable networks are treated, among other things. “There sure seems to be an apparent argument that PEG needs to be on a basic tier, so it will be an interesting argument to see how the commission addresses that,” said lawyer Paul Feldman, with cable and broadcast clients.
“It will be interesting to see whether the commission is willing to take that on in the current state of the interim commission,” added Feldman. AT&T and Comcast spokespeople declined to comment. “We're hopeful” the petitions get acted on, said Tim Lay, representing the Alliance for Community Media, a PEG group. Lay and others said questions on PEG during a hearing last month from House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee Chairman Jose Serrano, D- N.Y., and Copps’ response are an indication the item may move along. Lawyers for some municipal petitioners declined comment or didn’t reply to messages.
The FCC order freeing News Corp. from programming restrictions placed on it in 2004 by the FCC when it bought DirecTV, which it’s since sold, could also come up for a vote in the coming months, said agency officials and industry lawyers including Feldman. With no U.S. pay-TV distribution platform, News Corp. is at a competitive disadvantage with the programming curbs, said another communications lawyer. Commissioners aren’t currently discussing Martin’s News Corp. order, but it’s something they could focus on in the future, said agency officials. A News Corp. executive declined to comment.
Commissioners also haven’t begun to discuss how to require Sirius XM to parcel out 12 channels it must set aside for use by minority-controlled entities as part of the order approving the combination of the two satellite radio companies, said agency officials. Once FCC members get a summary of comments made to the agency on its public notice and an options memo, they may be willing to decide how to move forward, said an agency official. Another said such an item could easily end up coming under Copps’ consensus approach. Company spokespeople didn’t reply to messages seeking comment.
Once the commission has five members, it may “vet” many items before they reach legislators because Congress is “so tied up with health, energy and budget” issues, predicted Carp. “Big issues” likely will be “deferred until there is a new commission in place,” said Robert Rini, who represents radio and TV stations. “You'll see the new commission, once they fully staff it, focus mostly on media issues in terms of promoting minority and female ownership and broadband issues in terms of promoting broadband deployment.”