In the latest much-antiticpated consolidation in the communications industry, Disney confirmed it's buying much of 21st Century Fox. Disney plans to acquire the Twentieth Century Fox Film and Television studios and cable and international TV businesses for some $52.4 billion in stock and assume $13.7 billion of net debt, the buyer said this morning. 21st Century Fox will keep Fox Broadcasting, Fox News Channel and some other cable channels in a "newly listed company that will be spun off to its shareholders," Disney said.

Plans by DOJ to sue to block AT&T's buy of Time Warner are "a radical and inexplicable departure" from antitrust precedent, AT&T General Counsel David McAtee said Monday. In a statement, he said vertical mergers routinely get approved "because they benefit consumers without removing any competitor from the market" and there's no reason AT&T/TW should be any different. The telco said it will hold a news conference at 5:30 p.m. EST with CEO Randall Stephenson to discuss the litigation.

Jessica Rosenworcel in her first policy speech since rejoining the FCC as a member Aug. 11 expressed concerns Thursday on Sinclair's buy of Tribune Media, the transition by TV stations to ATSC 3.0 and her agency's course on net neutrality. "I am concerned the Commission is gearing up to approve a transaction that will hand a single broadcast company the unprecedented ability to reach more than 70 percent of American households," she said of the deal worth about $4 billion. She called current 3.0 plans "not a great boon for consumers, it’s a tax on every household" with a TV.

In an FCC pilot begun Thursday morning, the agency will release the full text of draft items before commissioners vote on them, when they're slated for consideration at members' monthly public meetings. Chairman Ajit Pai did just that, releasing a draft NPRM on broadcasters' envisioned move to next-generation ATSC 3.0 TV, plus an order on AM revitalization, of which he has been a major proponent.

​President Donald Trump’s immigration executive order Friday blocking citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days awakened an outcry in the tech industry over the weekend. The order "hurts our nation -- both morally and economically -- and runs counter to our country's long-standing values,” CTA President Gary Shapiro said in a Sunday statement. CTA understands the president’s “superseding role” in protecting the U.S. from terrorism, Shapiro said. But "blocking access en masse of employees of U.S. companies who are lawful visa and green card holders based on religion or national origin raises constitutional issues.”

LAS VEGAS -- ATSC “likely” will recommend adoption of Dolby AC-4 as the ATSC 3.0 audio codec for the U.S. “and perhaps North America,” by year-end, ATSC President Mark Richer told us exclusively Monday at the opening of the ATSC 3.0 Consumer Experience exhibit at the NAB Show. Dolby Labs executives were at the exhibit to showcase AC-4's immersive audio qualities through an off-the-shelf soundbar mounted next to an LG Ultra HD TV. It was there that Mathias Bendull, Dolby vice president-broadcast consumer audio, told us ATSC would announce AC-4 as its recommended ATSC 3.0 audio codec for North America by the end of 2016.

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