Ownership

The Communications Workers of America, National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-CWA, the NewsGuild-CWA, and the Parents Television Council have all filed petitions with the Federal Communications Commission asking it to deny the merger between Sinclair and Tribune, which would create the largest broadcast group in the country with over 200 stations.

Apparently, federal authorities have subpoenaed the publisher of the National Enquirer for records related to its $150,000 payment to a former Playboy model for the rights to her story alleging an affair with Donald Trump. The subpoena from Manhattan federal prosecutors requesting information from the publisher, American Media Inc., about its August 2016 payment to Karen McDougal is part of a broader criminal investigation of President Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter to Google expressing concerns over the company’s partnership with the Chinese phone maker Huawei. The group of senators and congressmen said that the partnership poses national security concerns, in step with previous efforts to keep Chinese tech firms, including ZTE and Huawei, from doing business in the US.

Despite recent buzz that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai would be scheduling a vote at the July 12 public meeting on a proposal related to the FCC's review of the 39% ownership cap/UHF discounts, such an item did not make the agenda.

When Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com Inc more than two decades ago, he sought to keep the online bookstore away from the government’s reach. He has said he looked into placing its headquarters on an Indian reservation as a tax-saving strategy. That was then. Today, Amazon, whose revenues in 2017 topped $177 billion, has become deeply entwined with the federal government. Bezos has built one of the largest lobbying operations in Washington, bigger than those of powerhouses such as Exxon Mobile and Walmart.

As many of you know, on June 12 Judge Richard Leon of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled against the US government and in favor of AT&T’s application to merge with Time Warner, without the imposition of any conditions. From the viewpoint of many, both the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice have been stuck in administrative molasses, seeking to apply sectoral market analysis, preserve questionable bright line tests, and continue the imposition of rigid restrictions as part of transactional reviews the same way now as in 2008, 1988, or 1958.

The Supreme Court will decide whether iPhone users can sue Apple for locking down the iOS ecosystem, something the suit’s plaintiffs say is creating an anti-competitive monopoly. Apple v. Pepper could theoretically affect how tech companies can build walled gardens around their products. The Supreme Court isn’t going to make a call on that specific issue, but its decision could affect people’s relationship with all kinds of digital platforms. Here’s what’s at stake when the Supreme Court case starts, which should happen sometime in the next year. 

The Walt Disney Company sharply increased its offer for 21st Century Fox June 20, as it looks to win a bidding war with Comcast for Rupert Murdoch’s entertainment conglomerate. In a quickly issued statement agreeing to the sweetened deal, 21st Century Fox said that the revamped offer from Disney, now valued at $71.3 billion, was “superior to the proposal” made by Comcast last week. The bid by Disney is 35 percent higher than its earlier offer and about $6 billion more than Comcast’s. Disney’s chief executive, Robert A.

While the result of AT&T/Time Warner is disappointing, there’s light at the end of the dark tunnel that was the week of June 11. First, the Department of Justice may yet appeal and win the AT&T case, and we hope it does. Even without that, one bad result will not deter the professionals in the DOJ Antitrust Division.

If regulators approve their merger proposal, Sprint and T-Mobile promise to offer in-home internet services to roughly 9.5 million American households by 2024, or about 13% of the country. The company said that figure would give it a market penetration of around 7%, making it the nation’s fourth largest in-home ISP based on current subscriber counts.