Washington Internet Daily Quotes Tom Davidson on New FCC Chairman Ajit Pai
Contact:
Washington Internet Daily has quoted Akin Gump communications and information technology head Tom Davidson in the article “Pai’s FCC Expected to Be Largely Laissez-Faire on Media Issues,” speaking about the direction of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under its new chairman, Ajit Pai.
According to the article, the FCC is likely to loosen, or even deregulate, media ownership rules, though it is not definite that it will alter retransmission consent or other negotiation rules or seek to extend authority over the over-the-top provision.
Davidson said that with former Chairman Tom Wheeler having been reluctant to make any changes to retransmission rules, a Republican-controlled FCC is now even less likely to do so in deference to Congress and to the existing market that seems to be working. The FCC under Pai, he noted, also isn’t likely to advance the independent programming Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, especially since the FCC in the past didn’t act when elements of that were before the commissioners, or try to put retail or wholesale a la carte programming requirements on programmers. Davidson added that efforts to advance minority ownership interests and incentives could garner some bipartisan support.
People Mentioned in This News
