1. Monthly archive
  2. October 2017

October 2017

NHMC warns Verizon of possible protest over Univision blackout

The National Hispanic Media Coalition is threatening to rally Latino leaders against Verizon for its removal of Univision from the Verizon Fios service. Verizon's blackout comes as the country recovers from Hurricane Katia and a pair of earthquakes, all of which hit in September.

In a letter to Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, the group's president and CEO Alex Nogales said the NHMC "is outraged that at a time when catastrophic events have occurred in Mexico and Puerto Rico, Verizon has chosen to blackout Univision, the primary source of news for millions of Spanish-speaking and bilingual Latinos residing in the United States." Verizon removed Univision from its network Oct 16 when the two could not reach an agreement. Univision President and CEO Randy Falco charged Verizon with not acting in good faith in a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai.

Verizon Gives FCC Its Side of Univision Impasse

Verizon gave Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai its side of the carriage dispute with Univision that has resulted in those networks being off Verizon pay-TV and wireless platforms. Verizon SVP Kathleen Grillo said that despite Verizon's efforts over the past two months, Univision sought unreasonable terms and price increases--more than double its current rate despite declining viewership, says Grillo. She said Univision initially asked for a 170% increase and did not come off that figure "materially"--it ultimately dropped to 130%--in subsequent negotiations, including an offer that came Oct. 16, five hours after the expiration of the contract.

Grillo said it was clear that they were at an impasse and that a further extension--there had been an initial 16-day extension--would not result in a reasonable rate. Grillo also said Verizon had an obligation to customers to negotiate a reasonable rate to protect them from "unwarranted" price increases.

Sinclair’s Vision for a TV Network to Rival Fox Draws Critics on the Right

The fiery editorials of Sinclair Broadcast Group chief political analyst Boris Epshteyn will be beamed into seven in 10 American living rooms if the company is allowed to complete a merger that would transform it into a nationwide conservative TV juggernaut. But Sinclair’s proposed $3.9 billion purchase of Tribune Media Co. is encountering opposition from unlikely foes: media stalwarts of the right.

Newsmax Media, headed by friend-of-President Trump Chris Ruddy, One America News Network and TheBlaze, founded by former Fox News host Glenn Beck, are joining liberals in criticizing the merger. The Coalition to Save Local Media -- an alliance that includes One America, TheBlaze, the Common Cause policy group and Dish Network, which worries about Sinclair demanding higher fee -- said it was commencing an advertising campaign against the deal. Charles Herring, president of One America Network parent Herring Networks, said Sinclair will have leverage to force cable providers that most viewers rely upon to pay high fees for its TV stations’ signals, draining the pool of money available for independent programmers such as his news channel. “Small, large, left, right -- everybody has spoken out against this merger,” Herring said. “I’m unaware of anybody who isn’t directly or very closely associated with Sinclair speaking out in favor of the merger,” he added.

Searching the Communications of Americans Should Require a Warrant

[Commentary] Congress is considering sensible reforms to ensure that Fourth Amendment warrant requirements apply to incidental and “about” collection. We believe that Section 702 authorities are important to our national security. But the unanimous opinion of the Review Group stands since 2013: Judges should approve Fourth Amendment search warrants before searching the communications of Americans.

[Peter Swire is the Elizabeth and Tommy Holder Chair of Law and Ethics at the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, and served as one of five members of President Obama's Review Group on Intelligence and Communication Technology. Dick Clarke is CEO of Good Harbor]

DC Court Allows Live Streaming

In a first for the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, oral argument in a major abortion case, Garza vs. Hargan Oct. 20 will be live streamed after Fix the Court, which advocates for greater access to federal courts, made the request.

Chief Judge Merrick Garland issued the decision in a one-sentence letter to Fix the Court executive director Gabe Roth, saying simply: "Thank you for your letter of today's date, requesting that the court provide a live audio feed of arguments in Garza v. Hargan, 17-5236, tomorrow. The court will do so." "Fix the Court learned over the summer that the circuit had internally endorsed a new live audio policy on a case-by-case basis but that as of today members of the press and public had yet to formally ask for a livestream of a specific hearing," said Roth.

The unintended consequences of Europe’s net neutrality law after one year

[Commentary] The European Union’s law “laying down measures concerning open internet access” came into force in 2016. After a year with the law on the books, telecom regulators across Europe have submitted compliance reports to the supervisory Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the European Commission. While no bad internet service providers (ISPs) or violations have emerged, a regulatory bureaucracy is growing because of the law.

[Roslyn Layton was a member of the Trump FCC transition team, and is a visiting researcher at Aalborg University Center for Communication, Media, and Information Technologies and a vice president at Strand Consult, both in Denmark.]

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