FCC Opposition to Paxson Petition No Surprise

Cable industry officials expressed little surprise at the FCC’s opposition to Paxson’s mandamus petition to the U.S. appeals Court, D.C. (CD Dec 22 p 8). Although the FCC’s opposition was widely expected, some cable attorneys praised the Commission for considering the matter in context of the overall industry. “The FCC is clearly not just sitting back on its heels,” said cable attorney Seth Davidson “The FCC did a good job of urging the court not to look at the petition in isolation.”

Paxson vehemently disagreed with the FCC’s filing, saying it was “weak,” according to Chmn. Bud Paxson. “They keep saying they won’t be pushed -- well, 7 years later they need to be pushed,” he said. He was referring to the FCC rulemaking on DTV must-carry rules started in 2001. There have been over 500 filings in this proceeding -- including more than 50 filings by Paxson -- the most recent Dec. 9.

“Over 50 members of Congress have asked the FCC to complete multicast must-carry,” Paxson said. “I think they [FCC] should be pushed. They want the DTV transition.” Paxson’s attorneys are working on a response, which will be filed in 14 days. “I think this is just round one with the court.”

The Paxson petition is not likely to accelerate the FCC’s multicasting rulemaking, which originally was scheduled to be completed by year-end but is now expected to spill into 2005’s first quarter, several cable attorneys said. While most attorneys are wary of predicting what the court might do, many think the it’s likely to deny it.

“A lot of work is going on at the FCC on this [multicasting] issue,” said Davidson. “This petition doesn’t play that large a role in it. The biggest issue is putting an item together that has the votes.”