FCC nominee Nathan Simington’s Senate confirmation hinges on Tuesday's elections, lawmakers and other officials told us. Many of the hurdles for his confirmation would likely clear if President Donald Trump is reelected, but his prospects will likely be greatly diminished if Democratic nominee Joe Biden wins, lobbyists said.
Country of origin cases
Call competition problems are diminishing but haven’t gone away, NTCA told the FCC in comments posted Friday. Others said the rules are working, with some limited complaints. The Wireline Bureau said in September the 2018 rules were effective but asked for comment (see 2009140056). They were due Thursday in docket 13-39. Other commenters had a more positive take.
The FCC Media Bureau will lift freezes on full-power TV rulemaking petitions that have mostly been in place since 2004, said a public notice Thursday. The freezes -- originally enacted for the DTV transition and extended because of the incentive auction -- will be lifted 15 days after the Federal Register publishes the rule change, the PN said. A freeze on filing new low-power TV and TV translator applications will remain in place, the PN said. “Licensed and permitted LPTV/translator stations are still being displaced as a result of modifications by full service stations as they technically adjust to their new repacked channel locations,” the PN said. The freezes that will be lifted apply to channel change and community of license petitions, petitions seeking new DTV allotments and service area modifications.
A proposal on changing FM booster rules to let radio stations geotarget content was circulated to the eighth floor, said FCC officials and a release from Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. The draft NPRM hews closely to an April petition from GeoBroadcast Solutions (see 2006040024) and doesn’t focus on an additional proposal from a group of broadcasters seeking to be allowed to originate content on FM translators, an FCC official told us. Starks has repeatedly praised the proposal and did so again Wednesday: “I am pleased to support this innovative proposal, which could offer a potential lifeline to small, women, and minority broadcasters that are struggling to retain their listening audiences and earn advertising revenue at a time when consumers have multiple options.”
CTA doesn’t “anticipate needing any further extensions” of the Patent and Trademark Office’s deadline for filing a statement of use (SOU) in the association’s application for the NEXTGEN TV logo as a certification mark on ATSC 3.0-compliant TVs, emailed Brian Markwalter, senior vice president-research and standards. CTA was granted a six-month extension last week to April 21, and is entitled to four more (see 2010230046). The original SOU deadline “was around the same time that compliant TVs with the logo were entering the market,” Markwalter said Monday. “Now that compliant TVs from multiple manufacturers are in the market and the logo is clearly in use, CTA is in the process of filing the appropriate SOU with evidence of use in commerce.” PTO requires SOUs before issuing registration certificates to prevent applicants from intentionally hoarding trademarks.
Sony Electronics wants broadcasters to use their new ATSC 3.0 opportunity to begin beaming 4K programming with HDR over the air, Nick Colsey, vice president-business development, told the prerecorded ATSC broadcast conference Monday during the virtual NAB Show New York event. Broadcasting in 4K HDR will “make the biggest difference” in sowing 3.0 consumer adoption, he said.
Quibi, the short-form video service founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg in 2018 and headed by former HP CEO Meg Whitman, was a “bad idea -- that inexplicably -- managed to raise $1.75 billion” in funding, Brightcove analyst Jim O’Neill emailed Thursday, reacting to the service's shutdown after only six months. In a joint letter to employees, investors and partners Wednesday, Katzenberg and Whitman said they're “winding down the business” and seeking buyers for Quibi’s content and technology assets. They said the goal of Quibi, originally called NewTV, was to create a new category of content -- short-form entertainment for mobile devices -- but circumstances weren’t right for Quibi to succeed “as a standalone company.” They cited two possible reasons: “because the idea itself wasn’t strong enough to justify a standalone streaming service or because of our timing” during a pandemic. But, they said: “Other businesses have faced these unprecedented challenges and have found their way through it. We were not able to do so.” Though Quibi was a good outlet for experimenting with content creation, O’Neill said management “totally misread the market,” ignoring data about how consumers view content and jumping into the space “without adequate research.” In a January prediction, O’Neill wondered how the service would justify the subscription price and questioned how it would engage consumers long term. Quibi management falsely assumed because “Gen Edge and Millennial viewers consume a lot of YouTube content that they’d do the same” with what the service considered premium content, “assuming users want short-form content,” O’Neill said Thursday. Millennials are actually the most avid moviegoers, said the analyst. “They want to binge,” he said, “and they don’t always go to their phones to watch.” Amid a crowded video streaming market, O’Neill downplayed competition for eyeballs as the reason for Quibi’s demise. Parks Associates analyst Steve Nason wasn’t shocked Quibi closed shop but was surprised it happened after only six months. He cited contributing factors including “outsized expectations” and a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Eko. As recently as this week, Quibi had mixed messages, Nason said. It announced Monday it planned to take the service to connected TVs to widen its base: “That should have been done at launch,” said the analyst. “It was very shortsighted.” The Quibi failure stands out from other services that were doomed because their content didn’t connect with users. That wasn’t the case with Quibi, which nabbed 10 Emmy nominations. “Content wasn’t the issue,” Nason said.
Congress authorized the FCC to interpret “all provisions” of the Communications Act, including amendments, so the agency can issue a rulemaking clarifying the immunity shield’s scope, General Counsel Tom Johnson blogged Wednesday (see 2010210022). Authority originates from the “plain meaning of” Communications Act Section 201(b), “which confers on the FCC the power to issue rules necessary to carry out the provisions of the Act,” Johnson wrote. Congress inserted Section 230 into the CDA, making clear “rulemaking authority extended to the provisions of that section,” he wrote. Johnson cited Supreme Court decisions by the late Justice Antonin Scalia in AT&T v. Iowa Utilities Board in 1999 and 2013's City of Arlington v. FCC.
The coronavirus is having mixed impacts on one tech company. IRobot anticipates “going back to a world” of 25% U.S. tariffs on Chinese-sourced goods once its exclusion expires Dec. 31, said CEO Colin Angle on a Q3 call Wednesday. The pandemic delayed iRobot’s “original plans” to shift most U.S.-bound production to Malaysia by the end of 2020 to reduce or eliminate its Chinese tariff exposure, instead pushing the move “well into 2021,” he said. The stock closed 13% lower at $83.48, a day after reaching a 52-week high of $98.55. Work and learning from home helped drive 43% Q3 revenue growth, said Angle. “The pandemic has impacted individuals and families in profound ways with the home becoming a primary hub for work, education, exercise, entertainment and more.” IRobot took part in its sixth straight Prime Day event last week, said Angle: “Despite the change in Prime Day from its usual timing in early July, it was a solid event.“ IRobot "is cautiously optimistic for a strong fourth quarter,” said Chief Financial Officer Julie Zeiler. “It remains to be seen how the pandemic, an uncertain economic environment and the shifting of an event like Prime Day from July to mid-October will influence the holiday gift-giving season.” The “incredibly challenging period” forced iRobot to make supply-chain “adjustments” to “keep up with demand,” said Zeiler when asked about a notice on the company’s online store it's experiencing shipping delays. “Given all of the growth, there is occasionally a situation on our website where shipping is delayed,” said Angle. “We have the systems in place to make those types of disruptions very short.”
Congress authorized the FCC to interpret “all provisions” of the Communications Act, including amendments like Section 230, so the agency has the authority to issue a rulemaking clarifying the immunity shield’s scope, General Counsel Tom Johnson blogged Wednesday.