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FCC Gives Quick Approval of TV Station Sale That Could Speed AT&T-Time Warner Merger

Phillip Dampier April 20, 2017 AT&T, Canada, Competition, Consumer News, Public Policy & Gov't, Reuters Comments Off on FCC Gives Quick Approval of TV Station Sale That Could Speed AT&T-Time Warner Merger

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Monday it approved Time Warner Inc’s sale of a broadcast station in Atlanta to Meredith Corp, a transaction that could help speed Time Warner’s planned merger with AT&T Inc.

In January, AT&T said it expected to be able to bypass the FCC in its planned $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner because it would not seek to transfer any significant Time Warner licenses.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said previously he did not plan to use the proposed TV station license transfer as a way to examine the AT&T-Time Warner merger. About a dozen senators had urged him to review the deal.

The station that Time Warner is selling, WPCH-TV, for $70 million, is its only FCC-regulated broadcast station. It has other, more minor FCC licenses.

Meredith has operated WPCH-TV for Time Warner since 2011. It was previously known as WTBS. The station is no longer considered a superstation in the United States, after Turner Broadcasting System created a new national network it dubbed TBS. WTBS changed its over-the-air call letters to WPCH, rebranded as “Peachtree TV,” and is considered an independent television station airing off-network sitcoms and dramas. However, WPCH is still widely seen across Canada, where it remains a “superstation” after Canadian regulators refused to allow Canadian providers to carry Turner’s TBS network.

WPCH-TV, an independent TV station in Atlanta, dubs itself as “Peachtree TV.”

In a statement on Monday, Meredith said it was pleased the FCC approved the application and that it anticipated “moving forward expeditiously to close this deal.”

The company said in February it expected to close on the sale by June 30 and that the deal would not have a material impact on its results.

Time Warner did not immediately comment on the FCC approval.

The Justice Department has to prove a proposed deal harms competition in order to block it. The FCC has broad leeway to block a merger it deems is not in the “public interest” and can impose additional conditions.

AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson told CNBC in February the Justice Department review was ongoing and he thought the deal would close by the end of the year.

“It’s a clean transaction,” he said.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Stop the Cap!/Phillip Dampier.)

Democrat Tries an End Run Around GOP’s Revocation of Internet Privacy Rules

Phillip Dampier April 19, 2017 Consumer News, Public Policy & Gov't Comments Off on Democrat Tries an End Run Around GOP’s Revocation of Internet Privacy Rules

Blumenthal

If the Federal Communications Commission can’t or won’t guarantee internet privacy and data security oversight, one Senate Democrat has proposed transferring authority to regulate ISPs and establish data security standards to the Federal Trade Commission.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) last week alerted the media of his forthcoming bill: “The Managing Your Data Against Telecom Abuses (MY DATA) Act,” which he says will address corporate concerns over two different regulatory standards by giving the FTC oversight powers over ISPs as well as internet companies like Google, Yahoo, and others.

The bill, not yet available for review, contains language giving the FTC important rulemaking authority, something it generally lacked without specific congressional approval on a case-by-case basis. With such power, the FTC could set and enforce the rules and fine companies that break them.

The FTC has sought jurisdiction over broadband providers for years, something that has generally been left to the FCC to manage. But since the arrival of FCC chairman Ajit Pai, who has been stripping consumer protection policies and ending oversight, the FTC’s case has suddenly gotten much stronger, and more appealing to some members of Congress in both parties.

What has given the matter some urgency was Congress and President Trump’s decision to rescind FCC rules requiring ISPs to get customer consent before collecting and selling their personal information to third parties. ISPs welcomed that decision but consumers largely did not. For Blumenthal’s bill to have any chance of passage, he will need Republican co-sponsors. It is more likely Republicans will shepherd whatever final bill finally emerges from committee, if any.

If such legislation fails to win passage, expect states to begin enforcing their own privacy laws. Wisconsin and Minnesota have already enacted their own internet privacy protection laws. New York is considering one as well.

Will the FCC’s Spectrum Auction Improve Your Service? Let’s Look at the Coverage Maps

Phillip Dampier April 18, 2017 AT&T, Broadband "Shortage", Comcast/Xfinity, Competition, Consumer News, Dish Network, Public Policy & Gov't, T-Mobile, Wireless Broadband 1 Comment

Four large telecom companies won the bulk of the available licenses to operate their wireless services on the upcoming 600MHz band, once UHF TV channels occupying part of it vacate. But what exactly did AT&T, Comcast, Dish, and T-Mobile buy and where? Mosaik, a mapping firm, produced maps (courtesy Fierce Wireless) showing exactly where the four companies won 600MHz spectrum in the recent auction. The differences are striking. T-Mobile effectively won the right to launch new service almost everywhere in the country, in part because it acquired a huge number of cheap, low-demand licenses in largely rural areas.

Dish’s plans for its spectrum remain a complete mystery, while Comcast’s winning bids are entirely within areas where it provides cable service. AT&T, although already holding a large supply of low band frequencies, apparently needs more capacity in larger cities, and paid handsomely to get it.

AT&T

Most of AT&T’s winning bids cover larger cities where it already operates an extensive cellular network. Among the areas where AT&T can expand service: Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, St. Louis, Birmingham, Mobile, Tampa, Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Minneapolis and Little Rock. But AT&T also grabbed licenses for rural western Massachusetts, central Ohio, and southern Michigan.

Comcast

Comcast’s winning bids consisted of 10MHz of spectrum, except in Nashville where it nabbed 20MHz. Comcast grabbed enough spectrum to cover every city in Florida except Tampa (where Charter provides cable service). The cable company focused heavily on east and west coast bids, winning spectrum across much of the Pacific Northwest, the Boston-NYC-DC corridor, and Illinois and Indiana. The only downside is that 10MHz is not a lot of spectrum to support a large wireless service, but then Comcast does not require that at this time, because it will rely primarily on a shared arrangement with Verizon Wireless to power Xfinity Mobile.

Dish Network

What Dish intends to do with its spectrum remains a complete mystery, but it grabbed a significant amount of it in New York City and its nearby suburbs, including Connecticut. It also won respectable quantities of frequencies in Alaska, California, Florida, Puerto Rico, Seattle and Portland, and several midwestern and south-central cities.

T-Mobile USA

T-Mobile published a similar map as part of its press package claiming victory in the spectrum auction. This map better highlights T-Mobile’s extensive spectrum wins in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. If T-Mobile uses it all, it will command similar coverage areas comparable to Verizon and AT&T. T-Mobile will manage this without any need to merge with anyone else, as AT&T and Sprint have historically argued in their past failed efforts to acquire T-Mobile.

Spectrum Auction: T-Mobile Runaway Winner, But Dish Buy Puzzles Investors

Phillip Dampier April 17, 2017 Broadband "Shortage", Comcast/Xfinity, Competition, Consumer News, Dish Network, Public Policy & Gov't, T-Mobile, Wireless Broadband Comments Off on Spectrum Auction: T-Mobile Runaway Winner, But Dish Buy Puzzles Investors

T-Mobile’s 600MHz coverage map — assuming it builds out its full spectrum purchase.

One of the most consequential and visible spectrum auctions ever is over, and it will have a significant impact on broadcasters, wireless carriers, and the future competitive landscape of the wireless industry.

The world’s first “incentive auction” paid television stations to voluntarily vacate or move their assigned channels to make room for the wireless industry’s desire for more spectrum to power wireless data services. Up for bid was 70MHz of spectrum currently used by UHF television stations. A total of 50 winning wireless bidders collectively agreed to pay $19.8 billion to acquire that space. The biggest winner was T-Mobile USA, which is paying almost half the amount of total proceeds to acquire 45% of the spectrum available in the current auction. T-Mobile managed to acquire enough spectrum to cover 100% of the United States and Puerto Rico with an average of 31MHz of available spectrum nationwide, quadrupling its current inventory of important “low-band” spectrum, which is excellent for covering rural areas and inside buildings.

Consumers are likely to benefit as early as later this year when T-Mobile begins lighting up cellular service utilizing the newly available spectrum. Unfortunately, customers will have to buy new devices compatible with the new bands of frequencies.

Having the spectrum alone is not enough to beef up T-Mobile’s network. The company will have to invest in a large number of new cell sites, particularly in outlying areas, to eventually rival the coverage of AT&T and Verizon Wireless. But with an ample supply of 600MHz spectrum, T-Mobile could soon challenge AT&T and Verizon Wireless’ perceived network and coverage superiority. After this auction, AT&T continues to hold the largest portfolio of <1GHz spectrum — 70.5MHz. Verizon is second with 46.2MHz and T-Mobile has moved up in its third place position with 41.1MHz.

Although the FCC claims the current auction was among the highest grossing ever conducted by the FCC, industry observers claim companies got the new frequencies at a bargain price. A 2015 spectrum auction attracted $44.9 billion in bids, more than double the amount bid this year. The average price wireless companies paid per megahertz per person this year was just shy of 90¢, compared with $2.72 in 2015.

Where bargains are to be had, Charles Ergen and his Dish Network satellite company are sure to follow.

Few companies have as much unused wireless spectrum in their portfolio as Dish. Ergen loves to bid in auctions and has also picked up excess spectrum available on the cheap from other satellite companies that have since gone dark or bankrupt. Dish spent $6.2 billion on spectrum during the latest auction, puzzling investors who drove Dish’s share price down wondering what the company intends to do with the frequencies.

Investors were hoping Dish would eventually sell its spectrum portfolio at a profit, something that could still happen if other wireless carriers see a deal to be made. But some Wall Street analysts fear Dish might actually build a large wireless network of its own to offer wireless broadband service. Wall Street dislikes big spending projects and the competition it could bring to the marketplace, potentially driving down prices.

The other possibility is that Dish is making itself look more attractive to a possible buyer like Verizon, which could acquire the satellite company to win cheaper cable programming prices for its FiOS TV and an attractive amount of wireless spectrum for Verizon Wireless. The nation’s biggest wireless carrier notably did not participate in this spectrum auction.

Another unusual bidder was Comcast. Craig Moffett from Wall Street firm MoffettNathanson called Comcast’s $1.7 billion bid “half-hearted” and said it was unlikely to be enough spectrum for the company to begin offering its own wireless service. Comcast plans to rely on Verizon Wireless to power its wireless service, at least initially.

Comcast targeted its bids only in cities where it already provides cable service, which also nixes the theory Comcast and Charter might have been working together to form a cellular joint venture. Moffett expected Comcast would seek at least 20MHz of spectrum across most of the country. It ended up with 10MHz and only in select cities. Moffett thinks that may signal Comcast’s interest in buying an existing wireless carrier is still on the table.

Spectrum Auction Over: 175 TV Stations Take Money to Vacate Their Channels

Phillip Dampier April 13, 2017 Consumer News, Public Policy & Gov't 35 Comments

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An unprecedented 175 free over-the-air television signals will sign off on their current channels for good in return for an average of tens of millions in compensation paid by Comcast, Dish Networks, and various wireless companies that want their frequencies to bolster their mobile networks.

The UHF dial compression comes courtesy of the latest FCC spectrum auction, which allowed bidders to entice over-the-air television stations to give up their frequencies to make room for wireless companies trying to bolster their 4G LTE networks. At least 957 stations across the country will have to move to new channels as the FCC compresses the TV dial to make room for wireless providers.

Virtually all the affected stations won’t disappear from free over-the-air TV for good, however. Of the 175 stations, 133 plan to make a deal with another local station to relaunch as a secondary digital channel, 29 will move from a UHF channel to a new VHF channel (2-13), and one channel will move from a high VHF channel to a low numbered one.

The move was very profitable to some major market stations, where the TV dial is already crowded with signals. WWTO-TV, a TBN affiliate airing Christian TV programming in LaSalle/Chicago, Ill. won the highest amount of any station in the country to put its transmitter off the air – $304 million. The biggest non-commercial auction winner was New Jersey’s Public Broadcasting Authority, which won $194 million to switch off WNJN in Montclair, N.Y.

The winners are 50 wireless bidders who want the frequencies to improve their wireless networks by increasing the amount of spectrum they can use in the coveted 600MHz band. Signals at these frequencies do a better job penetrating buildings and around natural obstacles and terrain. The result will be improved coverage and signal quality, with fewer dropped calls.

“The conclusion of the world’s first incentive auction is a major milestone in the FCC’s long history as steward of the nation’s airwaves,” said FCC chairman Ajit Pai. “Consumers are the real beneficiaries, as broadcasters invest new resources in programming and service, and additional wireless spectrum opens the way to greater competition and innovation in the mobile broadband marketplace.”

Stations can begin vacating their frequencies this year. Among the 957 stations that have to change channel numbers, the first of a series of channel changes will begin on Nov. 30, 2018. The last changes should take place just over three years from now.

Are you affected? Here is the list of channels going off the air or relocating to a different band:

Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y.

  • WCDC-TV UHF Going off the air

Augusta, Ga.

  • WAGT-TV UHF Going off the air

Baltimore, Md.

  • WUTB-TV UHF Going off the air

Boston, Mass.

  • WBIN-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WDPX-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WFXZ-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WGBH-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
  • WLVI-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WMFP-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WYCN-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WYDN-TV UHF Going off the air

Buffalo, N.Y.

  • WIVB-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WNYB-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
  • WVTT-CD UHF Moving to High VHF Channel

Burlington, Vt.-Plattsburgh, N.Y.

  • WNNE-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WVTA-TV UHF Going off the air

Charleston-Huntington, W.V.

  • WPBO-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WTSF-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel

Charlotte, N.C.

  • WLNN-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WMYT-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WTBL-CD UHF Going off the air

Charlottesville, Va.

  • WVIR-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Chattanooga, Tenn.

  • WNGH-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
  • WTNB-CD UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Chicago, Ill.

  • WOCH-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WPWR-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WSNS-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WWTO-TV High VHF Channel Going off the air
  • WXFT-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WYCC-TV UHF Going off the air

Cincinnati, Oh.

  • WOTH-CD UHF Going off the air

Cleveland-Akron, Oh.

  • WAOH-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WDLI-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WGGN-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
  • WRLM-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WUAB-TV UHF Going off the air

Columbus, Ga.

  • WJSP-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Columbus, Oh.

  • WOUC-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
  • WSFJ-TV UHF Going off the air

Dallas-Ft. Worth, Tex.

  • KATA-CD UHF Going off the air

Dayton, Oh.

  • WBDT-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WKOI-TV UHF Going off the air

Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, Mich.

  • WCMZ-TV UHF Going off the air

Greensboro-High Point-Winston, N.C.

  • WCWG-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WLXI-TV UHF Going off the air

Greenville-New Bern-Washington, N.C.

  • WFXI-TV High VHF Channel Going off the air

Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.

  • WGGS-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
  • WRET-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WYCW-TV UHF Going off the air

Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York, Pa.

  • WGCB-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WLYH-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WPMT-TV UHF Going off the air

Harrisonburg, Va.

  • WAZH-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WVPY-TV UHF Going off the air

Hartford-New Haven, Conn.

  • WCTX-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WEDY-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WRDM-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WUVN-TV UHF Going off the air

Huntsville-Decatur-Florence, Ala.

  • WHDF-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Indianapolis, Ind.

  • WCLJ-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WHMB-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
  • WNDY-TV UHF Going off the air

Johnstown-Altoona, Pa.

  • WKBS-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Knoxville, Tenn.

  • WAGV-TV UHF Going off the air

Lansing, Mich.

  • WHTV-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WLNS-TV UHF Going off the air

Lima, Oh.

  • WTLW-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Los Angeles, Calif.

  • KAZA-TV UHF Going off the air
  • KBEH-TV UHF Going off the air
  • KDOC-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
  • KILM-TV UHF Going off the air
  • KJLA-TV UHF Going off the air
  • KLCS-TV UHF Going off the air
  • KNET-CD UHF Going off the air
  • KOCE-TV UHF Going off the air
  • KRCA-TV UHF Going off the air
  • KSFV-CD UHF Going off the air
  • KVCR-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
  • KWHY-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Louisville, Ky.

  • WBKI-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WWJS-CD UHF Going off the air

Madison, Wisc.

  • WISC-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel

Memphis, Tenn.

  • WWTW-TV UHF Going off the air

Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

  • WDLP-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WIMP-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WLPH-CD UHF Going off the air

Milwaukee, Wisc.

  • WCGV-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WMLW-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WMVT-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WVCY-TV UHF Going off the air

Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.

  • KCCO-TV High VHF Channel Going off the air

Monterey-Salinas, Calif.

  • KSMS-TV UHF Going off the air

Myrtle Beach-Florence, S.C.

  • WGSI-CD High VHF Channel Going off the air

New York, N.Y.

  • WEBR-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WMBQ-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WMUN-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WNBC-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WNJN-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WNYJ-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WRNN-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WTBY-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WXTV-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WZME-TV UHF Going off the air

Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, Fla.

  • WACX-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
  • WTGL-TV UHF Going off the air

Philadelphia, Pa.

  • WFMZ-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WGTW-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WLVT-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WMCN-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WNJT-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WTSD-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WTVE-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WUVP-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WWSI-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WYBE-TV UHF Going off the air

Pittsburgh, Pa.

  • WBOA-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WEMW-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WEPA-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WNNB-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WPCP-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WQED-TV High VHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
  • WQVC-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WVTX-CD UHF Going off the air

Providence, R.I.-New Bedford, Mass.

  • WLWC-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WRIW-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WSBE-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Puerto Rico

  • WDWL-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WELU-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WIRS-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WKPV-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WMEI-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WSJU-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WTCV-TV UHF Going off the air

Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

  • WFPX-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WHFL-CD UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
  • WNCN-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
  • WRAY-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WZGS-CD UHF Going off the air

Richmond-Petersburg, Va.

  • WUPV-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel

Roanoke-Lynchburg, Va.

  • WFFP-TV UHF Going off the air

Rockford, Ill.

  • WIFR-TV UHF Going off the air

San Diego, Calif.

  • K35DG-TV UHF Going off the air
  • KSEX-CD UHF Going off the air

San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Calif.

  • KEMO-TV UHF Going off the air
  • KEXT-CD UHF Going off the air
  • KMPT-TV UHF Going off the air
  • KOFY-TV UHF Going off the air
  • KQEH-TV UHF Going off the air
  • KRCB-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
  • KRON-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
  • KTLN-TV UHF Going off the air
  • KTNC-TV UHF Going off the air
  • KTSF-TV UHF Going off the air

Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-San Caballero, Calif.

  • KMMA-CD UHF Going off the air

Springfield, Mo.

  • KSPR-TV UHF Going off the air

Springfield-Holyoke, Mass.

  • WGBY-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel

Syracuse, N.Y.

  • WNYI-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Sarasota, Fla.

  • WUSF-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WTTA-TV UHF Going off the air

Tri-Cities, Tenn.

  • WAPG-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WMSY-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WSBN-TV UHF Going off the air

Tyler-Longview, Tex.

  • KCEB-TV UHF Going off the air

Washington, D.C.

  • WAZF-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WDCA-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WDCW-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WJAL-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WMDO-CD UHF Going off the air
  • WNVC-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WNVT-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WZDC-CD UHF Going off the air

West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, Fla.

  • WFGC-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
  • WXEL-TV UHF Going off the air

Wilkes Barre-Scranton, Pa.

  • WKBN-TV UHF Going off the air
  • WVIA-TV UHF Going off the air

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