The FTC will speed up merger antitrust reviews by sharing more information with companies with deals under scrutiny, capping the number of executives asked to provide information and relying more on newer technologies to get documents, it said. The agency will tell firms about the types of economic and other analyses they're using in their investigations, said a 31-page document released Thurs. Chmn. Deborah Majoras unveiled the guidelines after a year- long review by a task force. She said the rules will reduce costs and time when the FTC makes a 2nd request for information.

Adam Ciongoli, who recently left Time Warner to become one of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s law clerks, is wary of govt. intervention in some high profile media issues, judging by speeches he’s made. Imposing programming tiers such as family packages may not be constitutional, he told a Federalist Society meeting in Nov. (CD Nov 14 p2). “We need to look at whether various things suggested by the government are burdens on content” and “whether the remedy is narrowly tailored,” he said. He wasn’t speaking for Time Warner, where he was senior vp. Ciongoli previously clerked for Alito on the U.S. Appeals Court, Philadelphia. He objected to comments by FCC Chmn. Martin in favor of a cable family tier -- since unveiled by 4 cable operators. “People can exercise self restraint,” said Ciongoli: “Unfortunately, there may not be a market for the higher brow entertainment… People should have to opt out” of objectionable programming.

Six Senate Commerce Committee members want to boost Bell efforts to sell TV by erasing the need for video franchises in areas where Bells already sell wireline phone service. The proposal appeared in a plan discussed at a Wed. committee hearing on the issue. The “video competition principles” have backing from Sens. DeMint (R-S.C.), Ensign (R-Nev.), Kerry (D-Mass.), McCain (R-Ariz.), Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) and Smith (R-Ore.).

Broadband deployment will wither without reform of local video franchising, AT&T and a telecom trade group said in answer to an FCC inquiry. USTelecom, speaking for Verizon and other Bells that sell video service, urged standardization of the process for awarding local pay TV permits, but cable firms and cities across the country said local franchise authorities fairly award video licensees to new entrants.

Programmers and media activists asked the FCC to modify kids’ TV rules to reflect a compromise on how to count promotional material including online information toward ad limits. Disney, Fox, NBC Universal and medical groups reached a deal in Dec. on the Children’s TV Act following legal fights (CD Dec 16 p1). They asked the Commission to count the display of Web addresses toward ad limits and to restrict the use of TV kids’ characters in Internet content directed at children age 12 and younger. The group asked that some limits proposed by the FCC be relaxed. Commission rules that kids TV shows can’t be preempted by other programming more than 10% of the time should be voided, said the group in an FCC filing. The Commission will likely seek public comment on this “Joint Proposal of Industry and Advocates,” said Gloria Tristani of the United Church of Christ, a participant in the compromise. The companies have agreed to follow the new rules starting March 1, regardless of whether they're approved by the Commission, said Tristani: “Once the rules become final, then all litigation will be withdrawn.”

FCC Chmn. Martin could expand his authority over cable operators by reviewing whether they have enough subscribers to warrant further regulation, said industry sources. The Commission said Fri. it will seek comments on how to measure the percentage of U.S. homes subscribing to cable service with at least 36 channels (CD Feb 13 p2). Under the Telecom Act, if that proportion exceeds 70%, the so-called 70/70 rule will give the FCC authority to impose additional regulation. The Commission said it will also ask for comments on what actions to take if it finds the threshold was met.

KELLER, Tex. -- Bells’ entry into the market for video will boost competition, said an annual FCC report that for the first time considered telco video plans. The report, however, shied from addressing whether cable operators have passed a threshold for possible increased regulation. The FCC said it would begin a process to determine whether the threshold has been reached.

Cable groups had mixed reactions to a children’s TV rating system under development by Gemstar-TV Guide. The company plans to unveil a product early next year that rates TV programs by age appropriateness (CD Feb 9 p10). Cable & Telecom Assn. for Marketing responded favorably. “We applaud the innovation,” said a spokeswoman: “Adding a service that keeps choice and control in the parents hands is likely to have a high appeal.” The American Cable Assn., which has pushed for adding child-friendly programming, was more muted. “More information is always good, parents and viewers can make better choices,” Matt Polka, the group’s pres. told us. “However, better ratings do not address the problem of the objectionable programming still coming into the home.” Gemstar said a trial of another advance, a VoD search service, with Comcast in St. Paul, Minn., is going smoothly. Gemstar is now working with VoD firms on technical details, said Todd Walker, senior vp-TV Guide Interactive. Later this year, the firm “will start trialing with other MSOs,” Walker told us. “Hopefully we'll have it available for commercial deployment, for those who want it by the end of the year.”

A long awaited FCC a la carte report backs bundling of cable networks into packages of programs. A revised analysis of a 2004 Media Bureau study never voted on by commissioners, the report suggests alternatives to current pay TV program regimes. None of its 3 options - mixed bundling, themed tiers and subscriber selected tiers - would have cable and DBS providers sell channels only on an individual basis. This had observers scratching their heads at a disparity between pressure from Chmn. Martin for a la carte and findings of a controversial report he requested.

The N.Y. Times Co. chose Brightcove to handle broadband video distribution across the firm’s online properties and in syndication to other sites, the company said Wed. Brightcove will start by syndicating video content from About.com to affiliates, such as its Video Guide series for About channels Style, Home & Garden and Gadgets. The firm, which hasn’t gone public with its product, also is working with Viacom, A&E Television Networks and other media companies and has talked with cable operators, an executive said. The firm sees a “huge business opportunity” in putting video online as broadcasters scramble to offer content on demand, said Adam Berrey, vp-mktg. & strategy. With its product to be available commercially by March 31, Brightcove plans to make content available on mobile devices, he said in a Dec. interview. The goal is to let consumers create broadband channels, Berrey said: “In the long run this will be disruptive to video consumption… That is going to take several years at a minimum.” Last year Brightcove got $16.2 million from investors including Time Warner’s AOL.