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FCC Could Give Aereo New Life in Landmark Rule Shift

Sources tell Multichannel News the FCC is pondering giving broadband-based TV services the same full rights to programming access as cable operators. These rules wouldn't apply to companies like Netflix, the report notes, but could give companies like Aereo that have been eager to deliver live programming via broadband another lease on life by allowing them FCC-enforced access to vertically integrated programming. That's a shift from the aging notion you need physical cables to be a cable company:

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That would mean reversing a tentative, bureau-level conclusion in the Sky Angel program-access complaint that having a facilities-based transmission path was necessary to be an MVPD. The FCC tentatively concluded that an MVPD has to have control of both the content and the transmission path—copper, fiber, satellite signals to be delivering a channel—and that an OVD distributor lacks that path since it does not control a facilities-based channel to deliver it.
A few years ago, the courts shut down a dirt-cheap broadband TV service named Ivi, arguing that over the top video services weren't technically cable companies, and couldn't just start paying retransmission fees to become them. Fast forward to the Supreme Court's recent ruling on Aereo, which seemingly argued the exact opposite -- that Internet services could be cable operators if they pay retransmission fees.

Aereo, logically, then stated fine -- we'll declare ourselves a cable company and start paying retrans fees, since the Supreme Court ruling seemingly over-turned the original Ivi ruling. Except Aereo still ran into obstacles, the US Copyright Office sending them a letter insisting that Aereo isn't a cable company. As such, this new FCC ruling insisting companies like Aereo would be able to be cable companies is a huge shift.

Comcast has repeatedly tried to claim that they face so much video competition that there's no way their merger could cause problems because competitors will keep them honest. It seems likely the FCC will be integrating conditions related to this latest shift to try and help Comcast's often hallucinated competitors become tangible.

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IPPlanMan
Holy Cable Modem Batman
join:2000-09-20
Washington, DC

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IPPlanMan

Member

Cue the Cable/Broadcaster Trade Associations in 5, 4, 3....

Bring on the spin guys. Let's see what you've got.

I especially love this part:
Aereo: "We're not a cable company. We don't host/curate content."
Court: "Doesn't matter. We're shutting you down."
Aereo: "Ok, we're a cable company. We'll pay the retrans fees."
Copyright Office: "No you aren't. No you can't."