Quick Hits
by Staff -- Multichannel News, 6/1/2009 2:00:00 AM
Appeals Court Upholds MDU Contract Ban
Washington — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last week upheld a Federal Communications Commission decision banning exclusive contracts between cable companies and the owners of apartment buildings and other multiple-dwelling units.
In the decision, the FCC both prevented new exclusive contracts and nullified existing ones.
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association had appealed the FCC’s decision, but a three-judge panel of the court concluded that “the commission acted well within [its] bounds” to ban the contracts.
The NCTA had argued that the FCC had exceeded its authority in regulating exclusive deals; that it had not justified the change in policy; and that it had not considered the consequences of applying the decision retroactively to existing contracts.
The court disagreed, saying the FCC’s “extensive discussion” of the change was “more than equal” to what the court called its “forgiving standard of review.”
DTV Shift’s Status on FCC Agenda June 3
Washington — The Federal Communications Commission has announced the agenda for its June 3 open meeting, and like acting chairman Michael Copps’ first meetings atop the agency, it will focus on the analog-to-digital television transition.
In this instance, with the analog shutoff set for June 12, it will be a status report on final preparations for “the digital television transition, including the availability of consumer support and hands-on assistance for those who may need it.”
Nielsen Media Research said last Wednesday that 2.7% of TV homes, or about 3.1 million homes, remain “unready for the switch,” an improvement of 200,000 homes since mid-May.
Senate Panel Sets Hearing on Car Dealers’ Prospects
Washington — The chairman and ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing in early June on “the future of local auto dealers,” one of local TV’s most important advertisers.
Committee chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va., pictured) and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) are demanding answers from General Motors and Chrysler after they announced the closing of almost 2,000 dealerships.
The senators pointed out that the dealerships “have been an integral part of their cities or towns and helped sustain their local economies.”
“Small businesses need Congress to stand up for them, especially in these trying economic times,” said Rockefeller.
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