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.

In technologically changing times, the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing is trying to increase input from stakeholders from outside the core cable industry, with a new category of members and by including tech companies in some gatherings, CTAM executives told reporters at its headquarters Wednesday. One challenge industrywide, they said in National Harbor, Maryland, is how to buttress relationships through in-person meetings, with NCTA's INTX show no more (see 1610070023) and CTAM's Summit ended several years ago. No one event took INTX's place, and some are grappling with CES' big size and other meetings not incorporating more aspects of what was once the National Show, executives said. With CES "too big, it's too overwhelming," and CTAM is trying new strategies to serve members, CEO Vicki Lins​ said. "In our industry, it peaked a couple years ago, where your CMOs felt they needed to be there" annually, she said of chief marketing officers. Senior Vice President-Advanced Products Angie Britt, who has done a biennial CES tour, said in this "off" year she will do livestreaming and recorded interviews and perhaps demos of video and IoT products. "In a tour, you're taking 40 people through 150,000 of your friends" and that takes time, she said. "The conference is making it more and more challenging to get people on and off the bus at a place where you can let people on and off." CES is committed to ensuring "attendees and exhibitors have a quality experience," responded a spokeswoman for show producer CTA. It restricts attendance to ensure the show "remains easily navigable and that our attendees can find the distinct communities of their choice while experiencing the value of having the full industry represented," she said. "We work closely with the city of Las Vegas and transportation vendors to ease commute times from venue to venue to make the show experience as productive and streamlined as possible." For face-to-face gatherings generally, Lins thinks "the pendulum has swung very far." While "great stuff happened as a result" of past events, she said, "it's harder to have those relationships when you're not together with people." It was good to "right size," she said, but one still needs "those quality moments where you can build relationships, and I don't think you've found it yet." Yet post-INTX, "there wasn't the appetite for finding another big conference," said CTAM Chief Communications Officer Anne Cowan. "The marketplace was weighing in." Though her association had some INTX sessions, she said "the loss of that has been our gain" in some ways, with more coming to CTAM business meetings. In the first year without a major cable show, CableLabs and NCTA put on "The Near Future" event in April in Washington (see 1704270040). An NCTA spokesman declined to comment.

Officials working for FCC Chairman Ajit Pai have often used Twitter to slam news critical about the commission, according to our eight-month review of social media activities. Also unlike at DOJ, the FTC and NTIA, FCC aides using their government Twitter accounts regularly praise the substance of reporting that sheds a positive light on the agency under Pai. Some of the negative tweets may not abide by best practices, FCC responses to our Freedom of Information Act requests show.

FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly became perhaps the first Republican FCC member to speak against politics in licensing since President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday about opposing NBC's "license" (see 1710120028). O'Rielly is "pretty consistent on licensing and would not want politics to influence our decision-making,” he told a conference Friday, according to an aide who was present and TR Daily. “I believe in the independence of the agency.” Trump "is rightfully venting his experiences and disappointment with how the coverage has been occurring regarding his administration. I’ve been surprised how vitriolic" such reports have been, O'Rielly reportedly said. "President [Bill] Clinton got better coverage during the middle of impeachment than President Trump is getting these days.” Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel continued to oppose such Trump tweets (see 1710120019). "It's essential that the FCC in all that it does is careful to abide by the First Amendment when it engages in any policies involving broadcast licenses," she said in a CNN interview Sunday. "History won’t be kind to silence, and I think it’s important for all the commissioners to make clear that they support the First Amendment and that the agency will not revoke a broadcast license simply because the president is dissatisfied with the licensee’s coverage." Commissioner Mignon Clyburn expressed similar hopes about her FCC colleagues on such broadcast licensing (see 1710110075). “Revoking a broadcast license solely on [such] grounds would be inconsistent with the First Amendment," a Clyburn spokesman emailed Monday. "The Commission generally does not intervene in such cases because it would amount to replacing the journalistic judgment of a licensee with our own. The Commissioner is hopeful that her colleagues in the Majority share this view.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., urged FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Monday to “condemn [Trump’s] attack and reassure our nation and our journalists that you will stand up for them and protect and defend their fundamental freedoms.” Trump’s comments “were alarming in both his disregard of the FCC’s independence and flagrant disrespect for freedom of the press,” Blumenthal said in a letter to Pai. “I ask for your unwavering commitment that you will ensure the First Amendment remains a cornerstone of our democracy and that you will not follow through on this direction from” Trump. Blumenthal similarly asked all five FCC commissioners in a series of tweets Monday to “stand up for our free press and reject” President Donald Trump’s “unacceptable, un-American threats.” The offices of Pai and Commissioner Brendan Carr didn’t comment Monday.

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.

President Donald Trump asking his 40 million-plus Twitter followers about challenging NBC's "license" drew quick criticism Wednesday morning from Democrats at the FCC and on Capitol Hill. The company owns several FCC-licensed TV stations.

The Telecommunications Industry Association said it agreed to combine with QuEST Forum, an information communication and technology association, and more alliances are possible. The combined tech group will focus on IoT and related areas, such as smart cities, network virtualization and the transition to the cloud, TIA and the forum announced Tuesday. Forum CEO Fraser Pajak will be an officer of the new organization and will report directly to TIA CEO Wes Johnston, with the groups' boards combined into one, said a Q&A. A spokesman told us and online materials say no job cuts are now planned. With six staffers from the forum, TIA will have about 45 total employees, he said. Johnston was named head of TIA earlier this year (see the personals section of the June 6 issue of this publication), after an interim CEO followed Scott Belcher leaving after about two years (see 1702010030). More alliances are possible, online materials said Tuesday: "Current strategic alliances are being evaluated, and new ones being formed" and "we will continue to explore opportunities to expand value for our community through new partnerships and alliances, or when appropriate, through mergers and acquisitions." The combination is "reflecting" the consolidation that "naturally happened in the industry" and within the membership, said telecom industry consultant Grant Seiffert, head of TIA 2007 through 2014, in an interview. "In the past, TIA has merged with other organizations to provide synergies and like-minded services." Overlapping members (here and here) include big ISPs like AT&T and Verizon, and device maker/suppliers like Cisco and Nokia. The merger, subject to ratification of a definitive agreement, is expected to close in Q4, the groups said. The forum's focus includes ways for companies to be environmentally friendly and some standards.

Some commenters told the Copyright Office they seek leeway under Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act for circumventing technological protection measures, showed filings last week on regulations.gov COLC-2017-0007-0001. The Auto Care Association and CTA requested "exemption for diagnosis, repair, and modification of computer programs that control" autos' operation so "owners of vehicles [can] obtain the benefits from the exemption recognized in the previous triennial review," "free of any constraint in time or scope based on external, non-copyright factors, as were imposed in the previously granted exemption." BSA|The Software Alliance also sought an exemption involving cars, for "good-faith security research [that] does not violate any applicable law." Repair entity iFixit asked the CO for "an expansion to all existing repair exemptions to allow third parties to provide service at the request of the owner" and contends "Sec. 1201(a) does not bar the creation and distribution of tools primarily intended for repair of devices that contain embedded software protected by technological measures."

ASPEN, Colorado -- The problem of fake news is here to stay for now, although with some focus on consumer education and media users changing habits, it eventually could dwindle, the CEO of the Newseum said at a Technology Policy Institute conference. Jeffrey Herbst also thinks newspaper publishers' bid to get an antitrust exemption allowing them to collectively negotiate advertising deals with digital advertising platforms is unlikely to succeed, he said in Q&A.

ASPEN, Colorado -- More data on what works and what doesn't and on costs, stepping up consumer education, coordination among many stakeholders, and ISPs increasingly working with community groups were among suggestions from experts of different political and corporate stripes on ways to further narrow the digital divide. Responding to our questions at a Technology Policy Institute panel Tuesday, the group generally agreed there are no simple solutions, and more data plus maps of current efforts are needed. Getting the roughly one quarter of Americans without residential broadband online at home -- many in rural areas and many poor, elderly or not English-speaking -- isn't as simple as providing cheap or government-subsidized service with high speeds, they said.