FCC Chief Blames 'Old' FCC Rules for Aereo Court Losses
Broadcasters’ court challenge of the FCC incentive auction order is an “unfortunate reaction to an expansive and progressive undertaking,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in a speech Tuesday to the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association, according to a copy of his remarks…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
on the FCC website. Wheeler also said a lack of access to broadcaster and cable company controlled content was responsible for causing online video services to falter, which he intends to address with a draft NPRM on broadening what the FCC defines as a multichannel video programming distributor (see 1410290064). “Competitors should be able to negotiate in good faith for video content, even if it is owned by cable companies and broadcasters,” Wheeler said. “The old rules of the FCC” let broadcasters stop Aereo in court, said the chairman. “Aereo wasn’t the reason for the new rules, but the idea that entrepreneurs should be able to assemble programs to offer consumers choices is something that shouldn’t be hindered by the FCC.”