FCC Wants Contracts In Merger Reviews

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The FCC wants the retrans and programming contracts in the proposed Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger, but has adopted what it describes as a unique combination of protections to exclude "competitive decisionmakers" from accessing the information.

The order follows a request by broadcasters and cable companies that the contracts and their highly confidential and competitively sensitive information should be reviewed at the Justice Department because FCC protective orders are not sufficient to protect the information if the FCC places them in the public record of the proceeding.

The FCC sought comment on that request and has decided.

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John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.