The Senate Commerce Committee’s Wednesday follow-up confirmation hearing on Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn changed next to nothing about the dynamics driving her prospects for winning the chamber’s approval, said lawmakers and communications policy observers in interviews. Committee Democrats, even those who were latecomers to supporting Sohn, said during and after the hearing they still back her. Panel Republicans remained steadfastly opposed to the nominee, in part citing what they viewed as her still-insufficient candor about her role as a board member for Locast operator Sports Fans Coalition and her January commitment to temporarily recuse herself from some FCC proceedings involving retransmission consent and broadcast copyright matters.
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Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn struck back against what she deems “unrelenting, unfair, and outright false criticism and scrutiny” in written testimony we obtained ahead of a Wednesday appearance before the Senate Commerce Committee widely seen as a follow-up confirmation hearing. The panel, which began at 10 a.m., is expected to largely focus on Sohn’s role as a board member for Locast operator Sports Fans Coalition and her January commitment to temporarily recuse herself from some FCC proceedings involving retransmission consent and broadcast copyright matters.
Senate Commerce Committee Republicans told us they’re interested in pursuing a follow-up confirmation hearing with Democratic FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya given their hopes for the outcome of a Wednesday panel with FCC nominee Gigi Sohn that will serve as her de facto second confirmation hearing. Senate Commerce postponed planned votes last week on Bedoya and Sohn, in part citing the extended absence of Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., while he recovers from a stroke (see 2202010070).
Internal Intelsat emails make clear that the company backed out of the C-Band Alliance (CBA) due to maximizing the cash Intelsat would get from a C-band clearing, rather than being triggered by the FCC opting to go with a public spectrum auction, SES argued Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Intelsat outside counsel Mike Slade of Kirkland & Ellis replied that SES is "trying to jam a square peg into a round hole” and ignored how the CBA agreement terms were essentially negated by the spectrum auction approach the FCC ultimately took.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s December decision upholding the FCC’s 6 GHz order firms up the agency’s authority as “the expert agency” on spectrum, said FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks during the Fierce Wireless virtual Wi-Fi summit Monday. Other speakers said use of 6 GHz is growing and will be critical to better Wi-Fi.
Starz, even “in a very competitive environment,” added 1.7 million streaming subscribers in fiscal Q3 ended Dec. 31, including 600,000 domestically, said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer on a Thursday call. Lionsgate entered the fiscal year having “significantly ramped” its investment in Starz original programming, but COVID-19-driven production delays on multiple series, including an 11-month delay on “fan favorite” Outlander, “pushed back the full benefit of that investment,” he said. “This resulted in diminished subscriber growth in the first half of the year relative to our expectations.” The company sees “subscriber acquisition months” as “really key” for driving the Starz business, said Starz CEO Jeffrey Hirsch. “When you look at the original plan versus where we are today, it's about a total of 50 months of subscriber acquisition opportunity that we lost by moving content around,” he said. Outlander is “one of our big tent poles,” a “huge fan favorite,” he said. The series draws about 7 million “multi-platform views a week, which is one of the bigger shows on television, a very passionate fan base,” he said. “Missing a year of that content, it really hurts the subscriber growth, and you saw that in the first half of the year.” The eight-episode sixth season is scheduled to debut March 6. As a major feature-film studio trying to strike the right balance between theatrical exhibition and direct-to-consumer streaming, Lionsgate has shown it can make profitable films that “live comfortably” in both the theatrical and subscription VOD worlds, “from day-and-date multi-platform releases with a 92% profitability rate to larger movies that will benefit from hybrid releases,” said Feltheimer. “As a studio whose signature has always been diversified slates, allowing us to play in every space, our ability to tackle the challenges of a shifting and uncertain box office is more of a natural evolution than a pivot.” The way the industry is “shaping up” among the “broad-based” streaming services, “everybody is really competing to be that first SVOD in the home,” said Hirsch. “Couple that with the fact that we believe that there's going to be four to six SVODs per home, it sets Starz up to be this really great premium add-on tier as a way for those broad-based services to compete.” Lionsgate Class A shares closed down 8% Friday at $13.54.
The Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC), concerned about AT&T’s Feb. 22 shutdown of its 3G network, is asking the White House for help, hoping for a delay or other concessions. Members of the group asked the National Economic Council and the Domestic Policy Council to get involved, officials said.
Senators are working with House members to “improve” legislation that would allow news publishers to negotiate revenue sharing with online platforms (see 2201140054), Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said during a Wednesday hearing. Ranking member Mike Lee, R-Utah, spoke against the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (HR-1735/S-673) and efforts to mirror a similar negotiating framework Australia passed in 2021.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., reintroduced the Earn It Act Monday, as expected (see 2105180041). The bill removes “blanket immunity” under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act for violations of law on online child sexual abuse material. The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed the bill in 2020 (see 2007020050). Asked about committee consideration for the reintroduced bill, Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told us Tuesday: "Soon." Tech platforms would no longer have immunity from federal civil, state criminal and state civil child sexual abuse material laws. The bill establishes a national commission headed by leaders of DOJ, the FTC, DHS and other congressionally appointed members. The commission would establish voluntary best practices. Reps. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., and Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, are introducing companion legislation. The bill would restore victims’ privacy, said the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. CEO Dawn Hawkins said tech companies don’t currently have “incentive to prevent or eliminate CSAM.” Section 230 isn’t a barrier to federal prosecution of companies that fail to combat illegal material, said Computer & Communications Industry Association President Matt Schruers: “Enforcing existing criminal statutes in known cases would prevent more crime than placing a federal committee in control of how Internet services police content.” The bill, as originally written and reintroduced, “threatens encryption, privacy, and the Constitution,” said NetChoice Vice President Carl Szabo: It gives a “get-out-of-jail-free” card to those “credibly accused of child exploitation,” and its sponsors haven’t addressed “serious Fourth Amendment problems that would give criminal defendants yet another means to challenge their CSAM convictions.”
The Florida Public Service Commission delayed adopting staff-recommended changes to draft pole attachment dispute rules Tuesday after AT&T suggested edits Monday. At a livestreamed PSC meeting, staff and electric companies objected to some parts of the carrier’s eleventh-hour filing to modify a staff agreement reached last week with the cable industry.