Washington -- Two senators are seeking assurance from the
Federal Communications Commission that Liberty Media Group will continue to be subject to
program-access rules following AT&T Corp.'s proposed acquisition of
Tele-Communications Inc.
Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), chairman of the Antitrust,
Business Rights and Competition Subcommittee, and Sen. Herbert Kohl (D-Wis.), the
panel's ranking minority member, expressed their concerns about Liberty in an Oct. 28
letter to FCC chairman William Kennard.
"It is important to determine whether Liberty Media
will be covered by such laws and regulations under its new 'tracking-stock'
status, if and when the merger is concluded," the letter said.
Program-access laws and rules require satellite-delivered
networks that cable operators own 5 percent or more of to sell their programming to cable
competitors.
TCI chairman and CEO John Malone has operationally
insulated Liberty from AT&T under the terms of the $48 billion merger agreement. TCI
sources have repeatedly said that Liberty will be vertically integrated with AT&T, and
that it will not be exempt from program-access rules.
