Everybody involved has agreed to ask a federal court to expedite its review, or at least part of that review, of a challenge by some major programmers and broadcasters to the FCC's decision to make merger documents — specifically programming/retrans deal documents and work product — available to third parties.
That came in a request for expediting briefing and oral argument filed Wednesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. They have proposed that petitioner and intervenor briefs be due Dec. 15; respondent briefs Jan. 2 and reply briefs Jan. 13.
The FCC, joined by Comcast, Time Warner Cable, AT&T, DirecTV, DISH, Charter and the American Cable Association (respondents and their intervenors) told the court they wanted expedited briefing and oral argument. CBS, Scripps, Disney, Time Warner, 21st Century Fox, Univision, Viacom and the National Association of Broadcasters only consented to the expedited briefing schedule while taking no position on speeding up oral argument.
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