Comcast 2014 Annual Report Download - page 30

Table of Contents
In enacting the STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014 (“STELAR”),
Congress modified certain aspects of the compulsory copyright
licenses under which satellite providers and cable operators retransmit broadcast stations. STELAR also directs the FCC to
conduct a rulemaking in 2015 to review aspects of the requirement that commercial television stations and MVPDs negotiate
retransmission consent agreements in good faith. The FCC also has pending a rulemaking to consider, among other issues,
modifications to the good-faith negotiating standards and possible elimination of rules protecting local television stations’
exclusive
rights to transmit network and syndicated programming in their local markets. Congress also is considering legislation that would
eliminate or modify the must-
carry and retransmission consent regime. We cannot predict what new laws or regulations, if any, may
be adopted or how any such laws or regulations would affect our businesses. Under conditions imposed in the NBCUniversal
Order, MVPDs may invoke commercial arbitration to resolve disputes regarding carriage of our owned local broadcast television
stations.
Internet Distribution
The NBCUniversal Order and NBCUniversal Consent Decree establish certain obligations and restraints concerning distribution of
our content online. We must make available certain of our cable network, broadcast television and filmed entertainment
programming to bona fide online video distributors in certain circumstances, and they may invoke commercial arbitration to resolve
disputes over access to such programming. We also must distribute programming via nbc.com that is generally equivalent to the
programming that we distributed via nbc.com as of January 1, 2011, on generally equivalent price, terms and conditions, so long as
at least one of the other major broadcast networks continues to distribute its programming in a similar fashion. We are one of three
broadcast network owners of Hulu, but we have no voting rights or board representation. We have entered into renewal license
agreements with Hulu on substantially the same terms as its other broadcast network owners.
Broadcast Spectrum
In 2012, Congress authorized the FCC to conduct an incentive auction to reassign a portion of the broadcast spectrum for mobile
broadband use. Under the statute, broadcasters may voluntarily relinquish some or all of their spectrum rights in exchange for a
share of the proceeds of the FCC’
s auction of the spectrum. Broadcasters that do not voluntarily relinquish their spectrum rights
may still be affected as part of the process of clearing and repacking the spectrum, but Congress required the FCC to make “
all
reasonable efforts” to preserve broadcasters’ over-the-
air coverage areas and populations served, and to reimburse those
broadcasters’
reasonable relocation costs. The FCC currently is conducting a proceeding to implement this statute, addressing
matters such as incentive auction procedures, pricing methodologies, spectrum repacking and broadcaster relocation cost
reimbursement. Current FCC plans are to conduct the incentive auction in 2016. We cannot predict whether or how the incentive
auction might affect our businesses.
Indecency
A federal statute and FCC regulations prohibit the broadcast of obscene material on television stations at any time and indecent or
profane material between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
Indecency regulation has been the subject of recent court review, regarding both the FCC’s “fleeting expletives”
policy and the
FCC’s definition of what constitutes indecent material. A U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2012 may result in the FCC’
s clarification
of its policy and changes to how it approaches future indecency-
related enforcement actions. In this regard, in 2013, the FCC
sought public comment regarding its indecency enforcement policies, but it has taken no further action. From time to time, we have
received and may receive in the future letters of inquiry from the FCC prompted by complaints alleging that certain programming on
our owned local television stations included indecent or profane material.
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Comcast 2014 Annual Report on Form 10
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