Two heavyweight industry coalitions sparred Friday over the nature of a private set-top box briefing that the Consumer Video Choice Coalition (CVCC) held for Capitol Hill staffers that day at Google’s Washington office. The new Future of TV Coalition called the briefing a “secret Google field trip,” outlining opposition to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s set-top box proposals and the NPRM on deck for the February (see 1601270064). CVCC members told us such a briefing was standard and the same demonstration publicly recorded in the FCC docket last year.

Two heavyweight industry coalitions sparred Friday over the nature of a private set-top box briefing that the Consumer Video Choice Coalition (CVCC) held for Capitol Hill staffers that day at Google’s Washington office. The new Future of TV Coalition called the briefing a “secret Google field trip,” outlining opposition to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s set-top box proposals and the NPRM on deck for the February (see 1601270064). CVCC members told us such a briefing was standard and the same demonstration publicly recorded in the FCC docket last year.

The FCC should explore forming a video-purchasing cooperative to "mitigate the harm to local residential broadband Internet access service competition" that would come from Charter Communications' buying Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable, Incompas said in an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 15-149. Such a cooperative would aid small multichannel video programming distributors in competing against larger incumbent MVPDs, "including by incentivizing competition in New Charter's proposed footprint," the telecom association said. "A market-based solution such as the Cooperative is superior to any proposed build-out commitment that could be imposed upon Charter" because such a commitment wouldn't address the lack of competition for residential broadband service, it said. Some cable operators already use the National Cable Television Cooperative.

The FCC should explore forming a video-purchasing cooperative to "mitigate the harm to local residential broadband Internet access service competition" that would come from Charter Communications' buying Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable, Incompas said in an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 15-149. Such a cooperative would aid small multichannel video programming distributors in competing against larger incumbent MVPDs, "including by incentivizing competition in New Charter's proposed footprint," the telecom association said. "A market-based solution such as the Cooperative is superior to any proposed build-out commitment that could be imposed upon Charter" because such a commitment wouldn't address the lack of competition for residential broadband service, it said. Some cable operators already use the National Cable Television Cooperative.

Skirmishing over the FCC’s broad special access review began Wednesday, though many hadn’t yet filed comments in a rulemaking after the deadline was pushed back until Thursday due to the recent blizzard in Washington. In comments and releases shared with us, Sprint and some allies said the FCC needs to act to counter incumbent telco business broadband market dominance and practices. But USTelecom said 2013 industry data would show competition already was robust, and it had only strengthened since then, blunting the need for new regulation.

Skirmishing over the FCC’s broad special access review began Wednesday, though many hadn’t yet filed comments in a rulemaking after the deadline was pushed back until Thursday due to the recent blizzard in Washington. In comments and releases shared with us, Sprint and some allies said the FCC needs to act to counter incumbent telco business broadband market dominance and practices. But USTelecom said 2013 industry data would show competition already was robust, and it had only strengthened since then, blunting the need for new regulation.

Critics of Charter Communications buying Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable are continuing to lobby the FCC, seeking conditions or full blockage. The docket had been relatively quiet until the FCC paused the 180-day shot clock earlier this month, one cable industry lawyer told us. The shot clock resumed Wednesday and stood at 118 days Friday.

Critics of Charter Communications buying Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable are continuing to lobby the FCC, seeking conditions or full blockage. The docket had been relatively quiet until the FCC paused the 180-day shot clock earlier this month, one cable industry lawyer told us. The shot clock resumed Wednesday and stood at 118 days Friday.

Critics of Charter Communications buying Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable are continuing to lobby the FCC, seeking conditions or full blockage. The docket had been relatively quiet until the FCC paused the 180-day shot clock earlier this month, one cable industry lawyer told us. The shot clock resumed Wednesday and stood at 118 days Friday.

Comcast's lobbying cost dropped in Q4 by more than $1 million. It spent $3.94 million, compared with the $5.03 million it spent a year ago, when Comcast was fighting to get an ultimately unsuccessful acquisition of Time Warner Cable approved by federal regulators and in the midst of satellite TV reauthorization on Capitol Hill. Charter Communications, meanwhile, is trying to get acquisitions of Bright House Networks and TWC approved now and is spending more. It clocked $1.16 million in Q4, well up from the $730,000 it spent in that time a year ago. USTelecom spent $1.73 million, roughly on par with the $1.75 million from last year. CTIA was another big spender, with $3.24 million on lobbying in Q4. Incompas spent $296,000 this Q4 versus $409,577 last. Lobbying disclosure forms were due Wednesday (see 1601200061).