Matt Daneman

Critics of Charter Communications buying Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable are continuing to lobby the FCC, seeking conditions or full blockage. The docket had been relatively quiet until the FCC paused the 180-day shot clock earlier this month, one cable industry lawyer told us. The shot clock resumed Wednesday and stood at 118 days Friday.

A new coalition of companies, public interest groups and trade associations is promising Capitol Hill lobbying, consumer outreach and a host of other steps to block Charter Communications' proposed buy of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable. A similar Stop Mega Comcast coalition launched in 2014 in opposition to Comcast's now-dead attempt at buying TWC, and many of the same members are part of the Stop Mega Cable Coalition announced Thursday.

With air travelers increasingly demanding high-speed Internet while aloft, satellite companies’ in-flight connectivity businesses are growing. "There's not enough bandwidth for all the markets we're going after," said Don Buchman, vice president of ViaSat's commercial mobility business. Air-to-ground (ATG) connectivity could start regaining some lost market share depending on how quickly the FCC moves on a Qualcomm petition for establishing an in-flight air-to-ground mobile broadband spectrum in the 14-14.5 GHz band on a secondary basis, satellite industry consultant Tim Farrar said. "It's really a critical time to see how that balance will shape up over the next five to 10 years."

NAB, NATOA and Minnesota's Northern Dakota County Cable Communications Commission petitioned the FCC Media Bureau to reconsider the expiration of some local franchising authority certifications related to the agency's 2015 effective competition order. The three petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in August, asking it to review the June order establishing that the cable market is effectively competitive in every franchise area and put the onus of rebutting that presumption on franchising authorities (see 1508280033). The petition filed Tuesday in docket 15-53 -- pointing to the Media Bureau's December order, which listed franchising authorities that had sought new certification -- asked for reconsideration "so that the Bureau may vacate its [effective competition] findings and certificate expirations" if the D.C. Circuit sets aside the effective competition order.

A broader definition of multichannel video programming distribution to include some types of over-the-top video could be a boon for OTT operators looking to add local broadcast content to their offerings, or is a solution in search of a nonexistent problem, panelists said Tuesday at an FCBA panel. Such a reclassification is "putting a thumb on the scale way before it's necessary or appropriate," said 21st Century Fox Associate General Counsel Jared Sher. Minus the protections that come with MVPD categorization, some OTT providers "are going to be left 'under the bottom,'" said Jonathan Allen of Rini O'Neil.

As analysts question how much CEO Tom Rutledge's comments about the online video distribution market could create problems for Charter Communications' bids to buy Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable, Charter is adding to its public interest commitments. This time, it's pledges on board and employee diversity. An industry official said the company began work on its memorandum of understanding with various civil rights organizations in July, shortly after Charter/TWC/BHN was announced, and the MOU doesn't reflect any concerns about regulatory approval.

Multichannel video programming distributors may be at a disadvantage in the fight over possible changes to good-faith retransmission consent negotiation rules, former FCC official Adonis Hoffman told us Friday. "Because of their proximity to communities and the high-touch nature of television, I give the edge to broadcasters, who are hyper-local and have a high name-identification quotient. Plus, broadcasters have shown their ability to mobilize members of Congress who understand that all politics is local," Hoffman, who was chief of staff to Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, said in an email. In multiple filings posted Friday in docket 15-216, broadcasters and MVPDs and allies assailed each other's arguments about possible changes to the "totality of circumstances" test and defended their own turf. Thursday was the deadline for reply comments.

NAB came out swinging against retransmission consent negotiation proposals suggested by multichannel video programming distributors. It labeled them "a cynical ploy ... to use government to lower their cost of doing business," in a filing Thursday in FCC docket 15-216. ATVA said broadcaster arguments the FCC can't or shouldn't pursue such retrans negotiation rule changes as restricting online blocking or blackouts prior to marquee events don't hold water. "The public ... bears the brunt of broadcaster misbehavior," it said.

How the FCC will handle cable system franchising authorities seeking recertification in an era of presumed competing provider effective competition won't be clear until the agency starts making decisions on some of the recertification applications before it, cable franchising authority experts told us. "It's too early to read the tea leaves," said Dan Cohen of Cohen Law Group. "[However,] I don't think we can assume because of the [effective competition] order ... that the FCC is simply going to deny all these petitions." Echoed Mike Bradley of Bradley Hagen: "Until we see some order coming out of the FCC, it's hard to gauge how successful franchising authorities might be." The American Cable Association, National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) and NCTA didn't comment.

Dish Network, which opposes regulatory OK of Charter Communications' buy of Bright House Network and Time Warner Cable, probably is hoping not so much to derail the $89.1 billion deals -- as the company maintains -- but to have conditions that would advantage its Sling TV online video distribution service, said several experts, including those skeptical of such transaction curbs. "The louder [Dish CEO Charlie Ergen] is, the more influence he has in what those conditions might be," Boston College Law School associate professor Daniel Lyons said. And Dish on Comcast/TWC was joined by Cogent and Netflix in trying to block that deal outright, noted a cable lawyer. Dish seemingly is trying to have conditions imposed on the deal beyond those voluntarily proposed, such as deeper commitments that last longer, the attorney said.