Media deals making their way through federal court -- AT&T/Time Warner at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Disney/Fox at U.S. District Court in Manhattan -- shouldn't face a delay in judicial action due to the partial federal shutdown, antitrust and law experts told us. The month-long shutdown also isn’t seen having much effect on broadcast deals, analysts and attorneys told us.
The House Commerce Committee will step into the messaging battle about the ongoing partial government shutdown next week via a planned Jan. 31 hearing aimed at examining the shuttering's effects on federal agencies under the committee's jurisdiction, which include the FCC and FTC, Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said during a Thursday committee meeting. House Commerce is working to schedule an expected net neutrality hearing for February. It’s also considering a joint hearing with the House Judiciary Committee to examine T-Mobile's proposed buy of Sprint, lobbyists said.
Net neutrality bills are attempting comebacks in states that blocked measures last year, with lawmakers in more than a dozen states introducing net neutrality bills this month. States “have significantly more experience with the issue” after California enacted a strong bill and about 35 states at least proposed a measure last year, said New America Open Technology Institute Policy Counsel Eric Null. Pending legal challenges against the FCC and states could slow legislative momentum, some said. Federal legislators might try to preempt state actions (see 1901230046).
Net neutrality bills are attempting comebacks in states that blocked measures last year, with lawmakers in more than a dozen states introducing net neutrality bills this month. States “have significantly more experience with the issue” after California enacted a strong bill and about 35 states at least proposed a measure last year, said New America Open Technology Institute Policy Counsel Eric Null. Pending legal challenges against the FCC and states could slow legislative momentum, some said. Federal legislators might try to preempt state actions (see 1901230046).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan. 14-18 in case they were missed.
T-Mobile and Sprint executives are taking the prolonged partial federal shutdown in stride, though there's an effective pause in reviewing the deal at the FCC and DOJ, said lawyers familiar with their strategy. Analysts say as long as regulators go back to work in a somewhat timely manner, the shutdown shouldn’t be a major threat, although it will inevitably delay resolution. Some aren't convinced government will OK the deal (see 1901140017), while others expect approval. And T-Mobile caught some heat for executives staying frequently at a Trump hotel down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House starting shortly after the deal was announced.
T-Mobile and Sprint executives are taking the prolonged partial federal shutdown in stride, though there's an effective pause in reviewing the deal at the FCC and DOJ, said lawyers familiar with their strategy. Analysts say as long as regulators go back to work in a somewhat timely manner, the shutdown shouldn’t be a major threat, although it will inevitably delay resolution. Some aren't convinced government will OK the deal (see 1901140017), while others expect approval. And T-Mobile caught some heat for executives staying frequently at a Trump hotel down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House starting shortly after the deal was announced.
Eswar Prasad, a senior trade professor at Cornell University and the former head of the International Monetary Fund's China Division, expects that "some sort of compromise" will be reached with China just before the March 1 deadline for the tariff rate hike, and that after China accedes to certain U.S. demands, "at least they're going to back off additional hostilities." Prasad, speaking at the National Economists Club Jan. 17, said he expects all the tariffs on China to stay in place, as well as the Chinese retaliation -- though he does expect increased purchases of American soybeans to be part of the package.
Pandora rolled out voice control, based on SoundHound's voice and conversational artificial intelligence platform, to select iOS and Android users, it said Tuesday, with general availability “coming soon.” After the "Hey Pandora" wake phrase, users request to change stations, control volume, skip or pause music and other basic navigation.
Pandora rolled out voice control, based on SoundHound's Houndify voice and conversational artificial intelligence platform, to select iOS and Android users, it said Tuesday, with general availability “coming soon.” Voice Mode is designed to be a more natural and conversational way for listeners to discover new music and enhance their experience in the mobile app, said the company. After using a Google-esque "Hey Pandora" wake phrase, users follow with a request to change stations, control volume, skip or pause music and other basic navigation commands. The voice mode uses natural language understanding technology to respond to requests based on users’ personal tastes, not just what’s popular, Pandora said. They can make open-ended requests such as “Play something different” or “play music for relaxing,” or request a specific artist, podcast or playlist, it said.