The American Television Alliance isn’t trying to stop ATSC 3.0, the pay-TV group said in a blog post Monday responding to recent criticisms from NAB (see 1612090031). “We have to take the Ronald Reagan approach in this case: ‘Trust but verify.’” ATVA “is working with the FCC to weigh all of the significant factors, because that’s exactly what Americans deserve,” ATVA said. The new standard could lead to fees for consumers for buying new equipment, and “ATSC 3.0 carriage could be leveraged by broadcasters to extract yet even more retrans fees that could be passed on to consumers,” the post said. “Those concerns and the others impacting access and consumer cost burdens should all give us pause,” ATVA said. “We welcome a conversation with the NAB and federal regulators to address the concerns for consumers.”
The American Television Alliance isn’t trying to stop ATSC 3.0, the pay-TV group said in a blog post Monday responding to recent criticisms from NAB (see 1612090031). “We have to take the Ronald Reagan approach in this case: ‘Trust but verify.’” ATVA “is working with the FCC to weigh all of the significant factors, because that’s exactly what Americans deserve,” ATVA said. The new standard could lead to fees for consumers for buying new equipment, and “ATSC 3.0 carriage could be leveraged by broadcasters to extract yet even more retrans fees that could be passed on to consumers,” the post said. “Those concerns and the others impacting access and consumer cost burdens should all give us pause,” ATVA said. “We welcome a conversation with the NAB and federal regulators to address the concerns for consumers.”
A chorus of conservative groups is telling Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., not to accept a deal to reconfirm FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel this year. Congress remains in session for perhaps no longer than this week, and she will have to leave the agency if not reconfirmed this session. GOP holds have prevented her from advancing all year. The groups fear a deadlocked FCC under the incoming administration. A senior Senate Republican confirmed Monday that Republicans are seeking to wrap in a GOP commissioner reconfirmation.
A chorus of conservative groups is telling Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., not to accept a deal to reconfirm FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel this year. Congress remains in session for perhaps no longer than this week, and she will have to leave the agency if not reconfirmed this session. GOP holds have prevented her from advancing all year. The groups fear a deadlocked FCC under the incoming administration. A senior Senate Republican confirmed Monday that Republicans are seeking to wrap in a GOP commissioner reconfirmation.
Failing to stop implementation of rule changes that grant DOJ expansive computer hacking authority, lawmakers vowed Thursday to continue to push bipartisan legislation that would pause such new powers until Congress can fully debate and consider their impact. Opponents of the amendments to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure failed Wednesday to get unanimous consent on a trio of bills that would have either stopped or delayed implementation. Senate aides had said that was a long shot (see 1611220013) and the better chance is to hitch one of the bills to a larger one, possibly a short-term continuing resolution.
Failing to stop implementation of rule changes that grant DOJ expansive computer hacking authority, lawmakers vowed Thursday to continue to push bipartisan legislation that would pause such new powers until Congress can fully debate and consider their impact. Opponents of the amendments to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure failed Wednesday to get unanimous consent on a trio of bills that would have either stopped or delayed implementation. Senate aides had said that was a long shot (see 1611220013) and the better chance is to hitch one of the bills to a larger one, possibly a short-term continuing resolution.
Analysts expressed general relief Tuesday, after AT&T’s Monday announcement of its much-rumored DirecTV Now service that had been labeled by some as a “cable killer” due to margin-strapped pricing. Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche referred to a “collective exhale” after AT&T’s reveal at the DirecTV Now launch (see 1611280058) that the $35-per-month plan for 100 channels is a limited-time offer.
The FCC Wireless Bureau is plugging away on many spectrum, auction and other matters despite the lull in FCC action on controversial major items during the presidential transition, said Bureau Chief Jon Wilkins at an FCBA event Tuesday. Wilkins, joined by other officials, said the bureau is moving ahead with work aimed at fostering deployment of 5G wireless infrastructure and other proceedings. "There's a lot of stuff that's going on," he said. "There are some bigger items that are midstream that aren’t necessarily teed up for a decision real soon." The latest spectrum frontiers proceeding aimed at using high-frequency bands is such an item, he said.
Analysts expressed general relief Tuesday, after AT&T’s Monday announcement of its much-rumored DirecTV Now service that had been labeled by some as a “cable killer” due to margin-strapped pricing. Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche referred to a “collective exhale” after AT&T’s reveal at the DirecTV Now launch (see 1611280058) that the $35-per-month plan for 100 channels is a limited-time offer.
The FCC Wireless Bureau is plugging away on many spectrum, auction and other matters despite the lull in FCC action on controversial major items during the presidential transition, said Bureau Chief Jon Wilkins at an FCBA event Tuesday. Wilkins, joined by other officials, said the bureau is moving ahead with work aimed at fostering deployment of 5G wireless infrastructure and other proceedings. "There's a lot of stuff that's going on," he said. "There are some bigger items that are midstream that aren’t necessarily teed up for a decision real soon." The latest spectrum frontiers proceeding aimed at using high-frequency bands is such an item, he said.