The American Cable Association asked the FCC to put off for...

filing Friday that it wasn’t due to gain access until that day to the unredacted version of an opposition filed Wednesday by Comcast, NBC Universal and NBCU parent General Electric (CD July 23). And the ACA said its economic consultant, William Rogerson, is to have surgery Monday. Meanwhile, Free Press, which opposes Comcast’s purchase of control of NBC Universal, said in a filing in docket 10-56 that the companies have failed to meet the test for FCC approval that their merger would be in the public interest. The group said that in a meeting with Commissioner Michael Copps and aides, Executive Director Josh Silver and other representatives of Free Press had “expressed skepticism that conditions would be effective in remedying the anticompetitive harms resulting from the merger.” On net neutrality, the group said paid prioritization must be banned to preserve an open Internet. Free Press representatives made a similar point (CD July 23 p11) last week to FCC Chief of Staff Ed Lazarus, who has been holding meetings on broadband reclassification. (See separate story in this issue.) Viacom executives asked Chief Bill Lake and other Media Bureau staffers about the commission’s timetable for reviewing Comcast-NBC Universal, said a filing Friday in the docket. Of the FCC’s inquiry on gateway devices that can connect consumer electronics equipment to any pay-TV provider, Viacom said, “we expressed concern that the Commission’s proposal will not achieve its intended result and pointed out that a failure to take into account critical provisions in content distribution agreements will harm consumers in unforeseen ways."