WILL THE FCC YANK MURDOCH’S TV LICENSES?

A report by a parliamentary committee on Monday calling Rupert Murdoch unfit to oversee his media empire has inevitably touched off demands in the U.S. that he be stripped of his Fox TV broadcast licenses in this country. Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said in a letter to […]

NAB CONVENTION ATTENDEES — LAS VEGAS LOSERS MAY BE HAPPIER

Discontent was virtually palpable as the National Association of Broadcasters annual meeting got under way in Las Vegas. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski delivered a short speech to the convention repeating his call for broadcasters to relinquish spectrum in order to expand wireless broadband and for them to reveal the ad rates that they charge political […]

FCC CHAIRMAN TO VOTE FOR COMCAST-NBC MERGER — IF…

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Thursday that he is likely to vote in favor of Comcast Corp.’s proposed merger with NBC Universal provided that it agrees to a package of conditions. In particular, Genachowski insists that Comcast not be allowed to prevent the online availability of NBC and Comcast-produced programs. For example, one of Genachowski’s […]

FCC CHAIRMAN KNOCKS HIGH-SPEED WEB PLAN

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski on Thursday described as “unacceptable” plans by some Internet service providers to offer faster Internet speeds to some content providers — like YouTube or movie and TV companies — who pay for the speed boost. Genachowski indicated that he would oppose “any outcome, any deal that doesn’t preserve the freedom and […]

UNIVISION TO PAY $1 MILLION IN PAYOLA CASE

Univision, the nation’s largest Spanish-speaking television network, has agreed to pay $1 million in penalties to authorities for the payola practices of its now-defunct record company, Univision Music Group. It also agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The Justice Department had accused the Univision music company of bribing […]

TEAMSTERS UNION SUPPORTS NBC/COMCAST MERGER

The Teamsters Union, which has frequently found itself at odds with fellow unions representing workers in the TV and cable industries, has sent a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski backing the Comcast-NBC Universal merger. Leo T. Reed, who heads the motion picture division of Teamsters Local 399, said, “We believe that the Comcast-NBCU transaction […]