July 2009

Apparently, the Tribune Co has agreed to terms for the sale of the Chicago Cubs to a group led by private equity investor Marc Utay, giving the company two possible offers to submit to the bankruptcy court. It is the latest twist in a long-running effort by the bankrupt media company to sell the baseball team famous for its "lovable losers" image. Several people involved said Utay's renewed interest could be a way to pressure the Ricketts family into an improved offer. On Monday, a source said Tom Ricketts and his family had agreed to terms for the purchase of the team and other assets for slightly less than the $900 million offered in January. The source called it a "handshake" agreement and not a signed document. One of the sources reporting the Utay group's deal said the new offer is "a higher price but less cash upfront" than the Ricketts' bid.

The Federal Trade Commission has approved a Nokia Siemens bid for a portion of Canada's bankrupt Nortel Networks. Nortel had said Nokia Siemens Networks -- a joint venture of Nokia and Siemens -- would offer $650 million for Nortel's CDMA and LTE wireless technology businesses and act as the "stalking horse bidder." In a bankruptcy auction a "stalking horse" typically sets the floor for bidding, and makes the lead bid at the bankruptcy auction. Nokia Siemens will have the right to match any higher offers.

Wells Fargo Securities broadcasting and cable analyst Marci Ryvicker estimated that the digital transition added about 653,000 new subscribers to cable, satellite and telco companies, but said that cable operators, which reaped big benefits from the transition in the first quarter, won't likely see another big boost from the federal initiative until the third quarter. Ryvicker, in a research note Tuesday, estimated that the bulk of the benefit from the digital transition - originally slated for Feb. 17 but extended to June 12 - occurred for cable in the first quarter. That growth is expected to slow down to 122,337 in the second quarter and tick back up to 162,304 in the third quarter, according to Ryvicker's estimates. Cable operators are expected to gain the most through the DTV transition (475,000 subscribers) according to Ryvicker, followed by satellite TV (137,000) and the telcos (41,000).

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) seeks comment on the initial implementation of the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act (CSEA). The CSEA, which was enacted in 2004, created an innovative funding mechanism allowing Federal agencies to recover the costs of relocating their radio systems from the proceeds of the auction of the radio spectrum vacated. The first auction under the CSEA, that of the 1710-1755 MHz band, concluded in 2006, providing new opportunities for Advanced Wireless Services (AWS-1). Over two years into the relocation of Federal systems from this band, NTIA requests information on what implementation steps should be retained as best practices, what lessons have been learned, and what, if any, improvements should be made in future relocations under the CSEA. Comments are requested on or before August 21, 2009, 2009.