FCC Pauses Comcast/TWC, AT&T/DirecTV Shot Clocks While Awaiting Confidential Documents Opinon

The FCC paused 180-day shot clocks for the AT&T/DirecTV and Comcast/Time Warner Cable transactions while it waits for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to issue an opinion on a petition for review brought against the agency by a group of content companies over the release of contract information. It’s “prudent” to pause the transaction clocks because the FCC “would be advantaged” by knowing the court’s decision before the clocks run out, “which both are slated to do by the end of March,” the FCC said in a public notice Friday. The Comcast clock is stopped at Day 165 while the AT&T clock is stopped at Day 170, said the FCC transaction webpages. Though the public notice points to the court case as the rationale for stopping the clock, Georgetown Law Institute for Public Representation Senior Counselor Andrew Schwartzman said it’s likely the FCC also has other reasons. At least on Comcast/TWC, the transaction review team sent out information requests that have been fulfilled only recently, and they may not have been in a position to meet the deadline even without the court delay. The FCC had no comment. Comcast said it's fine with the pause. "We understand the FCC's decision to pause the informal review clock while the court continues to review a procedural matter related to the transaction,” Comcast said. “A decision is expected shortly.” The FCC “appears to be making significant progress in the review of our transaction in order to bring it to a conclusion,” Comcast said. The commission was more measured. “The clock carries with it no procedural or substantive rights or obligations but merely represents an informal benchmark,” the PN said. Oral argument was heard in the case Feb. 20 (see 1502200051), and it’s not clear when a decision in the matter could be issued, Schwartzman told us. Though the court usually tries to keep within a 120-day time limit, expedited cases such as the FCC’s are on a faster track, and could arrive much sooner, he said. The D.C. Circuit could also issue an order in one side’s favor or another and then follow it with a written opinion much later, Schwartzman said. Representatives for the content company petitioners, which include CBS, Disney and Viacom, declined to comment. AT&T expects "issues surrounding the litigation between the FCC and the programmers to be resolved quickly so the FCC can complete its review of our transaction," a company spokesman emailed. "We continue to look forward to closing our deal in the first half of the year."