Walt Disney Co. took issue with bid by Network Affiliated Station...
Walt Disney Co. took issue with bid by Network Affiliated Stations Alliance (NASA) for FCC inquiry into allegedly “unlawful network tactics and practices” (CD March 9 p2). In letter to FCC Asst. Gen. Counsel John Riffer Mon., Disney attorney…
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Erwin Krasnow called NASA petition “questionable procedurally, substantively flawed and ill timed” and said it should be dismissed. Noting that competition to broadcasters from cable, DBS, wireless cable and Internet services had emerged in last 2 decades, Krasnow argued that “there is absolutely no reason to revisit the issue of network power given that the Commission previously considered and consistently rejected similar allegations at times when broadcast networks had far fewer competitors than today.” He also said it was “curious that the petition is spearheaded by the very same affiliates who own television stations and daily newspapers and who are pressing hard for repeal of the newspaper/broadcast cross- ownership rule.” He urged FCC to reject petition without even waiting for public comments.