Viacom said it was ‘extremely pleased’ by stay on compliance with...
Viacom said it was “extremely pleased” by stay on compliance with FCC ownership cap issued by U.S. Appeals Court, D.C. Decision means Viacom won’t have to divest some of stations acquired in takeover of CBS pending review of overall…
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ownership cap. FCC Comr. Furchtgott-Roth, who dissented when Commission rejected Viacom petition to suspend national ownership cap, told us he wasn’t surprised by court decision. He said he was surprised that FCC had filed brief with court saying stay request should have been dismissed on procedural grounds. Stay request was based on same First Amendment argument that court upheld in Time Warner cable ownership cap case, Furchtgott-Roth said, but FCC brief generally ignored that argument: “The D.C. court stay puts the FCC in an unfavorable light.” He said whenever court upholds First Amendment argument, FCC ought to actively review any rules that might be subject to same argument.