Content Companies Balking at ACA/RCN Proposal for AT&T/TW Conditions
Content companies oppose a proposal by RCN and the American Cable Association for conditions on court approval of AT&T's proposed buy of Time Warner. In docket 17-cv-02511-RJL Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, CBS, Disney, 21st…
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Century Fox, Univision and Viacom filed a motion (in Pacer) to intervene or for leave to file an amici curiae brief in support of neither part. The content companies said they want to oppose the RCN/ACA proposal (see 1805150002) because of it requirement that rival MVPDs trying to arbitrate a dispute over access to New AT&T programming give New AT&T rates and terms agreements for content from other programmers. That proposed condition would give New AT&T access to the content companies' competitively sensitive agreements "despite the fact they are not at issue in and are unrelated to the harms complained of" by RCN and ACA, the content companies said. In a statement, ACA said there's no evidence similar commercial arbitration terms that DOJ and the FCC have used in the past have hurt programmers. "Just as the court rejected their earlier effort to deny access to this key information as evidence in the DOJ's case against AT&T/Time Warner, it should do so again here. Failure to do so would cut the heart out of the arbitration process by so limiting the information that it is discoverable that no party would utilize it. Neutering the arbitration process may serve the private interests of these programmers, but not the public interest." Judge Richard Leon expects a decision June 12 (see 1804300020).