October 2, 2019 - Public Issue
ACA CONNECTS: KEY DEVELOPMENTS
ACA Connects Offers FCC Proposals To Maximize RDOF Support Utilized By Smaller Broadband Providers
ACA Connects, in Sept. 20 comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission, applauded the FCC for launching the $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) and awarding support by using a reverse auction.
However, ACA Connects explained the proposed rules for the program would not maximize participation in the auction and therefore both waste scarce government support and fail to bring higher performance broadband services to unserved eligible areas.
ACA Connects recommended the FCC modify its weighting methodology to encourage providers to bid to offer higher performance services. The FCC also can increase participation by using individual census blocks as the minimum geographic area.
ACA Connects President and CEO Matthew M. Polka explained, “In proposing the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, the FCC has ‘caught the broadband train.’ The RDOF has the potential to bring high performance broadband services to unserved rural America and best use limited government funds. But that will only occur if the FCC adopts rules that encourage the maximum number of potential bidders to participate.” Read more.
ACA FILING (9/20): FCC Comments re Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and Connect America Fund
ACA CONNECTS' REGIONAL SHOW: KANSAS CITY, MO. The ACA Connects public policy team hit the road this year to stage regional meetings designed to ensure ACA Connects members are kept as current as possible on developments in Washington, D.C. The fourth and final "Regional Roadshow" occurred Wednesday, Sept. 25, in Kansas City, Mo. at the Kansas City Marriott. Opening remarks came from ACA Connects Chairman Patricia Jo Boyers, a Missouri resident who said her near term goal is the repeal of retransmission consent.
Mrs. Boyers pointed to the introduction of the Modern Television Act of 2019 as a potential legislative vehicle for achieving that goal. Other speakers included ACA Connects President and CEO Matthew M. Polka; ACA Connects EVP Member Services & Finance/Chief of Staff Robert Shema; ACA Connects Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Ross Lieberman; and Alpine Group EVP Ansley Erdel. Additional comments came from Judy Meyka, NCTC's EVP of Programming, and Jared Baumann, NCTC's VP of Broadband Services.
Attendee registrants included: Sparklight; Waverly Utilities; Conway Corp; Citizens Telephone & Cablevision; Midco; ImOn Communications; Eagle Communications; Leverage Consulting; Allo Communications; Vast Broadband; Vyve Broadband; and Indianola Municipal Utilities.
ACA Connects Chairman Patricia ACA Connects President and Jo Boyers CEO Matthew M. Polka
ACA CONNECTS AT THE MID-AMERICA SHOW
Following the ACA Connects' regional session, the Mid-America Cable Telecommunications Association (MACTA) held its annual conference at the same Marriott hotel in downtown Kansas City, Mo. The Sept. 26 MACTA event featured a sitdown interview with Phil Spencer (right), with questioning led by ACA Connects President and CEO Matthew M. Polka. Spencer is CEO of Northland Communications & MegaBroadband Investments, which recently announced definitive agreements to acquire Vyve Broadband and Eagle Communications. Both transactions are scheduled to close in Q4 2019. Later in the program, Polka and ACA Connects EVP Member Services & Finance/Chief of Staff Robert Shema were inducted into MACTA’s Pathfinder class of 2019. The Wendell Woody Pathfinder award was established in 1997 to recognize an elite group of cable industry professionals who actively participated for at least 20 years and made a significant impact on the industry during that time.
OTHER ACA CONNECTS FILINGS
ACA Connects has been actively representing independent cable in many other ways and on many issues in Washington, D.C. Those efforts are described in the filings, letters, and testimonies linked below for your review:
(9/25): FCC Ex Parte re Expanding Flexible Use of the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz Band w/ Offices of Cmmsrs Carr, Rosenworcel, and Starks and WTB, IB, OET, and OEA.
(9/23): FCC Comments re Establishing the Digital Opportunity Data Collection and Modernizing the FCC Form 477 Data Program
(9/20): FCC Comments re Review of EEO Compliance and Enforcement in Broadcast and Multichannel Video Programming Industries
ACA CONNECTS PODCASTS What’s retransmission consent all about? Why will “free TV” cost consumers about $11 billion in 2019? Why have TV stations blacked out their signals a record 230 times in 2019?
In this edition of DC2U, ACA Connects’ podcast and videocast, ACA Connects President and CEO Matthew M. Polka explores these issues with three noted communications policy experts. From left to right: Mike Chappell, Executive Director of the American Television Alliance (ATVA); Trent Duffy, Partner with HDMK and ATVA spokesman; and John Simpson with Ride TV, an independent programmer.
The podcast comes at a critical time with Congress in the process of reauthorizing the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization Act of 2014 (STELAR), which not only requires TV stations to bargain for retrans in good faith but also prevents them from signing exclusive retrans deals that would likely impede competition among multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs).
Congress is also taking a close look at the Modern Television Act (H.R.3994), a bipartisan bill sponsored by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) that would abolish retransmission consent and establish other policy reforms. This podcast was recorded Sept. 4 in Washington, D.C. ACA Connects is an ATVA member.
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/aca-connects/dc2u?refid=stpr Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Ov1uKk7TH56PkblcmbeTn ACA Connects The Hub: https://acaconnects.org/thehub/ You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs_Mv2AV1Ns&feature=youtu.be ACA Connects DC2U Podcast/Videocast: 5G, C-Band Spectrum, and More Rural Fiber Deployment – The Experts Discuss the “5G Plus Plan” and What It Means for America
Want some real news from a few key D.C. policy insiders on the fate of the C-Band spectrum? Then search no further than this edition of DC2U, ACA Connects’ podcast and videocast hosted by ACA Connects President and CEO Matthew M. Polka. To get a good idea of the underlying issues and policy alternatives related to clearing the C- Band, Polka turned to three policy experts: ACA Connects Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Ross Lieberman, Charter Communications Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Colleen King, and Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) Senior Vice President & General Counsel Alexi Maltas.
ACA Connects, Charter, and CCA combined to craft a proposal that needs Federal Communications Commission approval called the “5G Plus Plan.” The plan will free up a large swath of C-Band airwaves via an FCC auction for use by mobile communications providers planning to deploy 5G technology. The 5G Plus Plan will also generate billions in revenue for the U.S. Treasury; some of the auction revenue will fund an extensive fiber network especially needed by smaller multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) that will no longer be able to rely on C-Band airwaves to receive satellite- delivered programming after the conclusion of the FCC’s C-Band auction.
Complex and controversial with many parties at the table, the C-Band spectrum debate will be one of the most important issues the FCC will attempt to resolve this year. To get a sense of where the FCC is headed – a vote is expected this November – this new DC2U podcast is a good place to start. The podcast was recorded Sept. 4 in Washington D.C.
Links: Spotify | iTunes | YouTube | Stitcher | ACA Connects: The Hub
Please find this podcast edition on other sites by searching (for now) ACA Connects or DC2U.
PREVIOUS PODCASTS:
Diane Christman: Senior Vice President and Chief Program Officer at the Cable Center
Podomatic: https://bit.ly/2knsXdF Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/aca-connects/id1349457640 The Hub: https://acaconnects.org/thehub/
Duke Wimberly, a star of Ride TV’s “Cowgirls” series
Podomatic: https://bit.ly/2ML7o2Z Apple: https://apple.co/2HyY9ic The Hub: https://acaconnects.org/thehub
Jay Thomson, CEO at the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance Inc. (CCSA).
Podomatic: https://bit.ly/2zeEm34 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/aca-connects/id1349457640 Website: https://acaconnects.org/thehub/
Todd F. Schurz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Schurz Communications in Mishawaka, Ind., and Katherine Gessner, President of MCTV in Massillon, Oh.
Podomatic: https://bit.ly/2N6LAhV Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/aca-connects/id1349457640 ACA Connects Website: https://acaconnects.org/thehub/
ACA CONNECTS: NEWS HEADLINES
BELD To Turn Off Cable TV On Dec. 2 (Telecompetitor, 9/24) BELD, a broadband provider in Braintree, Mass., owned by utility Braintree Electric Light Department, announced that it now offers gigabit service but will no longer offer cable TV service as of December 2. The news illustrates a growing trend – broadband providers de-emphasizing video in favor of higher-speed broadband, which can support streaming video as an alternative to traditional pay TV. BELD is even helping customers find streaming video cable replacement options. To support its new strategy, BELD put together some attention-getting and user-friendly online resources to advise customers how to make the shift away from cable.
Sinclair CEO: Streaming Wars Will Be A ‘Sea Of Blood’ (Fierce Video, 9/26) Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley has looked out upon the incoming streaming wars, and has seen a landscape where media conglomerates will struggle to strive. In an interview with NBC News, he said his company has focused on news and sports as a long-term sustainable business strategy, and consciously avoided wading into the SVOD market with Amazon and Netflix and soon Disney, Apple, WarnerMedia and NBCUniversal. “We think that’s going to be a sea of blood,” said Ripley. “It’s going to be losses for many years to come for many of those companies who are going to be engaged in a major share battle.”
Locast Files Counterclaims Against Broadcasters (Variety, 9/27) After getting sued by the major broadcast networks for alleged copyright infringement, TV streaming upstart Locast has responded with a counter-filing that claims the TV networks have colluded to prevent free access to broadcast TV, and strengthen their retransmission business. “We believe the broadcasters’ lawsuit was brought without basis as part of a larger plan to unlawfully limit the public’s right to access that free programming,” said Locast founder David Goodfriend.
Ryvicker: Retrans Revenue At Risk In Long Term (TV NewsCheck, 9/27) Securities analyst Marci Ryvicker of Wolfe Research is generally bullish on the publicly traded station groups that she follows, but she admitted to serious concerns. Retransmission consent revenue “could be a risk longer term,” she said. Retrans and its derivative net retrans (retrans less reverse comp payment to broadcast networks) will grow at healthy clips for the next few years, she said. Retrans will experience a compound annual growth of 12%, while net retrans climbs at a 5% rate. But starting in 2024, by her reckoning, the rate of growth for retrans falls to 7% and net retrans goes flat.
FCC Approves Gray’s Top 4 Duop In Sioux Falls (TV NewsCheck, 9/24) It took 16 months but the FCC finally approved Gray Television’s purchase of Red River Broadcast’s NBC affiliate KDLT Sioux Falls, S.D., for $32.5 million, even though it already has another network affiliate, ABC affiliate KSFY, in the market. The action, in essence, constitutes a waiver of the FCC’s local ownership rules barring ownership of two stations in small markets and of two top-rated stations (typically network affiliates) in all markets. The FCC was undeterred by Monday’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeal in Philadelphia that vacated the FCC’s 2017 order relaxing the local ownership rules.
Fox Stations, Cable Nets Blacked Out On Dish (B&C, 9/26) Fox’s stations and cable networks were blacked out Sept. 26 on Dish Network in a dispute over retransmission consent and carriage fees. The blackout affects stations in 17 markets across 23 states and the District of Columbia. Subscribers to Dish and its Sling streaming services are also unable to receive Fox cable networks including FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, Fox Soccer Plus and Fox Deportes. Fox News is under a separate distribution agreement. Fox and Dish had been operating under an extension of their previous deal. Both sides pointed the finger at the other in terms of who pulled the plug.
OTT Device Pricing Being Driven To Zero, Analyst Says (Multichannel News, 9.20) Shares of what had previously been hottest company in OTT, Roku, fell another 17% following a declaration from Pivotal Research Group analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak that downward market pressure on OTT devices will soon drop prices to zero. Roku’s fast- growing revenue is now 67% generated by advertising. And in the second quarter, Roku still drove a 24% year over year increase in device sales. “We see dramatically more competition emerging that will likely drive the cost of OTT devices to zero and put material pressure on advertising revenue,” Wlodarczak told CNBC.
WGN-TV Says Goodbye To Wrigley Field After 71 Years (B&C, 9/21) WGN-TV in Chicago on Sept. 21 broadcast its last game from Wrigley Field as the station’s 71-year relationship with the Chicago Cubs approaches its end. The station will broadcast two more Cubs games before the season ends, one from Pittsburgh and one from St. Louis. Next season games will be televised locally exclusively on the Marquee Network, the new regional sports channel being formed by the Cubs and Sinclair Broadcast Group.
ACA CONNECTS: ACTION BRIEF TOP THREE
Most-Clicked Links From Sept. 5 ACA Connects Action \
Comcast Sues Maine To Stop A La Carte Law Apple TV+ To Cost $4.99 A Month And Launch Nov. 1 Fight! C-Band War Of Words Escalates
ABOUT ACA CONNECTS
Across this vast country, small and rural markets participate in the digital revolution by receiving video, broadband, and phone services from more than 700 small and medium-sized independent operators represented by ACA Connects - America’s Communications Association.
ACA Connects' members -- cable, phone, and fiber-to-the-home operators and municipalities -- deliver affordable basic and advanced services to nearly 8 million households and businesses. ACA Connects members operate in every state, offering high-definition television, next generation Internet access, and digital phone service.
Access to advanced communications is not a luxury but a critical necessity for consumers and companies, schools and hospitals. America's economic prosperity in smaller markets and rural areas depends on the growth and success of ACA Connects members, who believe a connected nation, is a united nation.
ACA Connects asks lawmakers and regulators to ensure fair treatment so that small and medium-sized independent operators may continue to supply affordable video, broadband, and phone services to Main Street America. Through active participation in the policymaking process, ACA Connects members and leaders advocate for the interests of their customers, their companies, and their communities to help ensure the continued viability of their way of life in hometown America.
For more information, visit www.acaconnects.org, or contact:
Ross Lieberman, SVP Government Affairs 202-494-5661 | [email protected]
Ted Hearn, VP Communications 202-713-0826 | [email protected]
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