Ownership

Sens Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Tom Udall (D-NM), and 13 of their Senate colleagues are requesting the inspector general of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) open an investigation into the objectivity and impartiality of the FCC’s review of the proposed merger of Sinclair Broadcasting and Tribune Media.

[Commentary] For over four decades, the Federal Communications Commission has restricted the ability of broadcast media outlets to also own newspapers, and vice versa, in the same market, under what is known as the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule. This rule was established in 1975 with the stated purpose of preserving and promoting a diversity of viewpoints. Arguably, it made sense at the time. But with the internet now dominating the news landscape, the rule is no longer needed, and may actually be undermining the diversity of viewpoints it was intended to foster.

Apparently, the Justice Department has called on AT&T and Time Warner to sell Turner Broadcasting, the group of cable channels that includes CNN, as a potential requirement for approving the companies’ pending $85.4 billion deal. The other possible way for the merger to win approval would be for AT&T to sell its DirecTV division, apparently.

[Commentary] As the son of a broadcast pioneer who got his license from the Department of Commerce in 1923 and as a former broadcaster myself, I read with great sadness “FCC to Lift Limits on Media Deals.” Although Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai justifies his proposal by saying it will lead to more news gathering locally and more news for consumers, my experience tells me it will be the opposite. First, viewers and listeners don’t need more news, they need better news.

Alabama-based Dragonfly Internet was created in 2023 when ITC Holding Company bought a local fixed wireless provider and opted to change the name. Since then, Dragonfly has been upgrading the fixed wireless equipment that the previous company had deployed and expanding to unserved and underserved areas using a mixture of fixed wireless and fiber. “Our preference is to use fiber where we can,” CEO David Hartin said. “But there will be communities where fixed wireless will make a lot of sense to do.

One tactic that both private and public fiber companies are using to raise capital is to tap asset backed security (ABS), according to the analysts at TD Cowen. ABS is a type of financial investment that uses income-generating assets as collateral and is an alternative to other ways of raising capital, such as corporate bonds.

It’s a no-brainer that fiber providers need some way to get the money they need for their passings targets, whether that’s tapping into government grants or private equity support. However, Frontier Communications is pursuing a third option. In August 2023, Frontier inked a $2.1 billion asset-backed securitization (ABS) deal – the first public company in the U.S.

You can’t go far in the broadband industry without hearing about some internet service provider getting acquired or an investment from a private equity company. Brightspeed, Consolidated Communications and Wire 3 are a few recent examples. Ropes & Gra

Gerald M. “Jerry” Levin, a television executive who rose to the top of Time Warner and orchestrated its ill-fated merger with America Online, which defined his legacy, died at the age of 84 in Long Beach (CA). Levin played a key role in the creation of HBO, helped spearhead the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Media, and led the subsequent acquisition of Ted Turner’s media holdings—including CNN—to create the largest news and entertainment company in the world.

The House voted overwhelmingly to approve a bill on that would ban TikTok from operating in the US or force a sale, with lawmakers largely shrugging off a last-minute lobbying push by the Chinese-controlled service and setting the stage for a final showdown in the Senate, where lawmakers have been cooler on the legislation. The measure passed the House 352 to 65, with one member voting present, showing broad bipartisan support for cracking down on TikTok over national-security concerns. The popular short-video app has faced scrutiny over the way its algorithm works to select content for use