At the Media Institute awards dinner in Washington Tuesday, a crowd full of Washington media types had plenty to talk about over cocktails and finger food at a reception before the hardware was handed out. Here is some of the chatter...
Look for the House Wednesday (Nov. 19) to vote on, and approve, a STELAR compromise on the satellite TV reauthorization legislation. It is unclear what happens in the Senate since Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is said to have a hold on the Senate version of the bill given that it does not contain an amendment keeping the FCC's set-top integration ban in place until a successor is found. Neither does the House version.
If Markey remains opposed to the bill, the must-pass STELAR would likely have to be added as an amendment to a must-pass continuing resolution.
The oddsmakers were putting their money on March for a vote on new network neutrality rules. FCC sources say it won't be on the Dec. 11 meeting agenda. One outside analyst said they had heard there could be a Dec. 11 item seeking comment on some of the new net neutrality proposals.
At least one source was betting that Thursday's (Nov. 20) circulation of a tentative agenda for the FCC's Dec. 11 meeting would include the item on classifying some over-the-top providers as MVPDs. Another said it had been a rumor around the building.
