New rules governing accessibility for user interfaces on set-top boxes and video equipment should ensure that consumers with disabilities won’t have to pay extra to receive accessible devices, said the American Foundation for the Blind in an ex parte filing in docket 12-108 (http://bit.ly/15BUBWd). It’s in connection with the commission’s rulemaking on implementing sections 204 and 205 of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) (CD Aug 5 p9). Comments submitted in the proceeding have focused more on which rules should apply to which devices than on the needs of disabled consumers, AFB said. Disabled consumers expect that “in a few years” it will be “pervasive and routine” for TVs and TV-related equipment to be sold with readily available accessibility features, said AFB. The consumer group said accessible equipment from cable and satellite providers should be made available to disabled consumers after a “simple, straight forward request,” without the requirement that they verify their disability as has been requested by some trade associations (CD Aug 9 p3). “Consumers expect that their request for accessible equipment is sufficient proof in itself of eligibility for/entitlement to such,” said AFB. Accessible equipment provided by manufacturers shouldn’t require consumers to own third-party equipment such as smartphones to operate it correctly, said the filing. A fully implemented CVAA will mean that accessible devices “will saturate the consumer electronics marketplace,” said AFB, and lead to consumers without disabilities “regularly purchasing equipment that they may not even be aware is/can be accessible to people with disabilities."
The FCC’s role in encouraging Time Warner Cable and CBS to reach a retransmission consent agreement was likely very minimal, said consumer advocates and cable industry professionals in interviews Tuesday. The agreement disclosed Monday between the companies ended a month-long blackout of CBS programming to Time Warner Cable customers in eight markets. Acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn urged media companies on both sides of retrans deals to accept shared responsibility when disputes affect customers (CD Sept 2 Special Report). The resolution shows that the FCC shouldn’t intervene in such disputes, a broadcast attorney said.
The FCC doesn’t have to wait for a full rulemaking proceeding on shared services agreements (SSAs) to rule against the ones associated with the Gannett/Belo merger, said the American Cable Association, Time Warner Cable, DirecTV and multiple public interest groups in reply comments filed in docket 13-189 Tuesday. To avoid overlaps that would conflict with media ownership rules, the terms of the merger call for some TV stations involved in the transaction to be transferred to other companies but still share services with Gannett under SSAs (CD July 26 p1).
Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn’s affirmation she might consider FCC involvement in the retransmission dispute between Time Warner Cable and CBS could add pressure to the parties to reach a resolution that would restore the broadcaster’s stations to the operator’s lineup, said some consumer advocates and broadcast attorneys in interviews Monday. Clyburn and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel expressed their concern for the affected customers after Friday’s FCC monthly meeting (CD Aug 12 p1). The statement from Clyburn counters the stance that previous chairmen have taken on the commission’s authority to act, said consumer groups that want retrans rules changed. NAB opposed further government involvement in the retrans consent process.
Petitions asking the FCC to reject a proposed $1.5 billion deal between Gannett and Belo because it depends on shared service agreements (SSAs) are an effort to “hijack” the transaction to “advance broader policy goals,” said Gannett in an opposition comment. It was filed alongside similar ones from Belo and affiliated companies Sander Operating Co. and Tucker Operating Co. in docket 13-189 Friday. Under the terms of the Belo’s purchase by Gannett, some of the stations involved in the transaction will be transferred to Sander and Tucker but still share services with Gannett under SSAs (CD July 26 p1). The American Cable Association, Time Warner Cable and DirecTV asked the commission to deny the deal to keep retransmission consent fees down, while a host of public interest groups filed a petition arguing that the FCC should stop companies from using SSAs to get around cross-ownership rules. The petitions are a “stale and overblown rehash of policy positions” from the 2010 Quadrennial Review and the retrans proceeding, said Belo’s filing.
Two of the FCC’s three members are concerned about the retransmission consent blackout of CBS programming on Time Warner Cable systems, they said after Friday’s monthly meeting where a satellite streamlining item was adopted. The commission is “actively monitoring the status of this particular dispute” and is in touch with both parties, said Acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn at a news conference. “But this is day seven and, quite frankly, I'm deeply disappointed that the parties seem to be unable to reach a retransmission agreement.”
Trade associations and consumer groups continued to argue over proposed accessibility rules for user interfaces and program guides, in filings in docket 12-108 Wednesday, the last day for reply comments to be filed in the rulemaking to implement section 204 and 205 of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA).
A retransmission consent dispute between Time Warner Cable and CBS resulted in a blackout of CBS programming to TWC subscribers in the New York, Los Angeles and Dallas markets. The companies’ last agreed-upon deadline extension expired at 5 p.m. Friday (CD July 31 p15). TWC subscribers also are blocked from accessing programming online.
The FCC Media Bureau is seeking comment on TiVo’s rulemaking petition on reinstating the commission’s second report and order on commercial availability of navigation devices. TiVo said (CD July 18 p14) the EchoStar v. FCC decision this year by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated rules that include standards for encoding of signals and conditional access “that cable operators, content providers, equipment manufacturers and consumers have relied upon for years,” the bureau said in a public notice (http://bit.ly/143MroP). Comments are due Sept. 16, replies Oct. 9, it said.
The FCC will likely approve the proposed $1.5 billion merger between Gannett and Belo despite petitions to deny the transaction filed Wednesday by the American Cable Association, Time Warner Cable, DirecTV and multiple public interest groups, said several industry observers in interviews Thursday. “It’s unlikely that the petitions to deny would result in the commission not approving the transaction,” said former FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell, now a visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute.