Wheeler: Only On-Record Info Will Be Used to Vet Deal Merits

FCC chairman Tom Wheeler says the FCC will only use information placed on the record when it renders decisions on mergers.

In a letter to Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), he assured him that the FCC agrees with the senator's admonition that "when orders that have significant impact on the industry are crafted based on information provided in secret and go unchallenged, I believe it can undermine the effectiveness of that order."

That is why Wheeler assured him that, per the Administrative Procedures Act, "[The] FCC uses only information that is placed on the record when it renders a decision on whether to allow a transaction to proceed, with or without conditions."

For the full story go to Multichannel.com.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.