| Thursday, December 5, 2024 |
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Welcome to the CFX Download, a synthesis of viewpoints from leading executives, gleaned from Cablefax editors, delivered as an extensive overview of the industry’s current landscape so that you can leverage it to make informed, strategic decisions for your business.
Election Day 2024 has come and gone, and Republicans will have control of the White House as well as both chambers of Congress in 2025. The market soared on the back of the news with operators and programmers alike receiving a boost, and industry leaders released messages congratulating President-Elect Trump on the victory.
Those leaders also immediately got to work to ensure lawmakers have their policy concerns top of mind when the next Congress begins. Broadband operators continue to call for the removal of hurdles to broadband deployments as states prepare to unleash funding from the BEAD program. Meanwhile, broadcasters are watching the FCC in hopes the agency will enact reforms to station ownership rules and remove barriers to continued investment in local newsrooms. Programmers are also hoping for movement on rules to modernize regulations surrounding the video ecosystem to create a level playing field that makes sense for the way viewers watch content today.
Time will tell where the Trump administration will focus its attention next year, but here’s what everyone from the leaders of the nation’s news networks to former FCC leaders have to say for now. |
| What Happens Before Inauguration Day? |
| With less than a month left in Congress’s lame duck session, there could be efforts by the Biden Administration to push some final initiatives through Congress. The FCC is still without its spectrum auction authority after losing it in March 2023, and several bills have been introduced to try to restore it and establish a pipeline for future auctions. But with warring efforts from both sides of the aisle, is it possible to reach a consensus on one agreement before Jan. 20? And what other potential victories could be low-hanging fruit? |
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Patricia Cave
Associate
Morgan Lewis |
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 One potential candidate for quick action from the White House directly would be President Biden's executive order on artificial intelligence. We may see that go away more quickly within the first 100 days, in contrast to some of these more complex telecom policy issues that are important, but not top priority. That's something that the White House could do directly and quickly.” |
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Robert McDowell
Partner
Cooley |
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| There’ll be an attempt [on spectrum], certainly by [Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell], but I think Incoming Chairman Ted Cruz is going to want it to be his bill. The wireless industry, for the most part, supports that bill, but again, having spectrum auction authority doesn’t do much good if there’s not much of an inventory to auction. We have a three-year study on it that came out of NTIA last year, so I doubt much will happen during lame duck on this. An attempt will be made, but I don’t think there will be enough time to get it done.” |
| What Can Be Expected from the New Administration? |
| The Trump Administration has already announced several nominees and appointments for key roles, including FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr to serve as the agency’s next chair. After Chair Jessica Rosenworcel revealed her plans to depart the FCC on Jan. 20, Carr celebrated her for prioritizing bipartisan initiatives and expressed his desire to do the same. Of course, he will surely pull back a number of her moves on regulating broadband under Title II, digital discrimination and bulk billing. But even if he wants to keep that spirit alive, he likely won’t need a majority to begin work on some major policy shifts. Satellite operators are expected to get a lift from the FCC and NTIA given Elon Musk’s involvement in the Trump administration. But the rest? It’s all wait-and-see. |
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Blair Levin
Policy Advisor
New Street Research |
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| Carr has not proposed a formal proceeding to define the public interest standard. Instead, he appears to be agreeing with the statements by President-Elect Trump that ABC, CBS and NBC should all be investigated and possibly lose their licenses because of coverage Trump believed was unfair to him. Putting aside that none of the national networks have licenses (the licenses are held at the local level, largely by affiliate groups though some by the networks’ owned and operated stations) Carr has already signaled that he will examine the proposed Skydance purchase of Paramount through the lens of whether CBS News violated FCC standards. Whatever the merits of such an inquiry, Carr can tie up the review process for an indefinite time without the votes of any other FCC Commissioners and cite Chair Rosenworcel’s successful blocking of the attempted General Standard purchase of TEGNA as precedent.” |
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Berin Szóka
President
TechFreedom |
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| Broadcasters risk fines and losing licenses while mergers could stall indefinitely over supposed political ‘bias.’ Brendan Carr’s top priority will be breaking so-called ‘censorship’—content moderation Republicans resent, from fact-checking conspiracy theories to banning users for their viewpoints, even outright neo-Nazis. Carr will quickly revive Trump’s 2020 petition to reinterpret Section 230 to require political ‘neutrality’ and to bar all ‘editorializing.’ Without immunity from endless litigation, social media will face what one court called ‘death by ten thousand duck bites.’ So Trump’s rule would effectively be a mandate. Even Republican judges should see why punishing the media for their editorial decisions violates the First Amendment.” |
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Steve Effros
Cablefax Columnist
Former President
CATA |
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| A new President, a new Chairman of the FCC, the current Chair leaving on January 20, 2025. So far as cable/broadband regulation and how the industry should prepare, ‘business as usual?’ Well, sort of. Every time there’s a political pendulum swing our business gets whiplash. It’s going to be the same this time. Net Neutrality rules, billing restrictions and even the definition of whether we engage in a ‘competitive’ business will all be up for revision or reversal. In other words, it’s likely we will face less regulation in the core cable business. However, that may not be true for broadband, where a political and philosophical tussle could result in a different form of “common carrier” or antitrust regulation, but without the threat of rate regulation. Mix in the issue of social media regulation and things could become totally unpredictable. Confusing? You bet. I’d advise that we have to be extremely careful about the very definition of our business. If the ‘relevant market’ of ISPs or cable changes, the entire legal structure we have worked under will change as well.” |
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John Heitman
Partner
Nelson Mullins |
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| Something that we see typically under a Republican FCC is what I would call ‘rules-based enforcement,’ rather than policy-based enforcement—enforcing the rules as they're written, rather than creating policy through your interpretation of the rules. I don't think the Enforcement Bureau under the current administration was as expansive, say, as the last time the Democrats had an FCC under their control. But I do think an enforcement more closely tethered to the communication statute and the rules that the agency acts on is something we can expect.” |
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Charles Mathias
Senior Counsel, Global Regulatory
Hogan Lovells |
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| You might see attempts across the board to modify the BEAD focus on fiber. Particularly given some of the new players who have different technologies, that would be a place where you could see some tweaking that probably wouldn't require congressional action. It will also better align the funding that comes out of the FCC with where the BEAD money is going to avoid overlaps.” |
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Ajit Pai
Partner
Searchlight Capital |
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| Some things are going to change from administration to administration and others are going to continue. Broadband, honestly, might be one of the few things that Americans agree on. There’s bipartisan recognition, especially coming out of COVID, that broadband is no longer a ‘nice-to-have.’ It’s really a must-have, and not just for residential broadband… but also on the enterprise side. When I talk to farmers and ranchers back home in Kansas, that’s one of the things I hear: they really need broadband to enhance the productivity of their farms. Or when I talk to rural healthcare providers… one of the things holding them back is a lack of telehealth and telemedicine and being able to reach patients who aren’t able to take time off to travel for a job… I truly think that broadband is one of the things that, even though there could be programmatic changes incrementally going forward, every single elected official, Republican or Democrat, is going to embrace.” |
| What Do C-Suite Executives Want to See from the New Administration? |
The significant changes coming to leadership in the White House as well as in Congress and at federal agencies also means a critical shift in policy priorities. The BEAD program was expected to be in full swing in 2025, but there could be reforms in the new year as leadership at the Commerce Department and NTIA changes. The Affordable Connectivity Program has run out of funding and there has been no meaningful movement to replenish the coffers or offer up an alternative. Meanwhile, programmers of all sizes are navigating a media marketplace that’s become dominated by streaming products and calls to update outdated regulations to fit vMVPDs and other players are only growing stronger.
Below is a compilation of first reactions from industry trailblazers as well as their hopes for action on issues that will increase the pace of broadband deployment and strengthen the video ecosystem. |
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Leigh Fox
President/CEO
altafiber |
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| The biggest thing that we run into with respect to accelerating broadband infrastructure is permitting… it’s the one thing that slows us down, and municipal permitting is actually getting tougher and tougher. For us, it’s not money, it’s not resources. We can’t put those two together fast enough and act fast enough because of the permitting aspect.” |
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Harold Zeitz
CEO
Ziply Fiber |
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| The pole access is what’s most challenging in the permitting category, and there just doesn’t seem to be any way to hold power companies accountable to a timeline. The truth is, nearly all of them leverage poles or something that is out of regulatory compliance and have us bear the cost. It wouldn’t be so bad if it were just the cost, but the time that they take to then do that work… I would add that to the list.” |
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Bob Udell
President/CEO/Director
Consolidated Communications |
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| We have to be focused on upgrades and modernization of our networks, fiber and other technologies that allow us to put more bandwidth out there because being in the network business, you can’t efficiently operate two networks—specifically copper and fiber.” |
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Tom Maguire
CEO
Brightspeed |
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| We have this document that we started to focus on called the North Star, and it basically says ‘build fiber, sell fiber, figure out what to do with copper.’ And the recurring theme throughout all of those focal points is we need better or more simplification. For example: simplification of the process to get reimbursed in association with grants, simplification of going after permits, figuring out a simpler way to attack network monetization. Right now, we spend a lot of time churning our wheels, trying to come up with solutions within the guidelines that we have in place today. We’ve got to get rid of them and come up with a better way to do things.” |
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Grant Spellmeyer
President/CEO
ACA Connects |
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| We expect to work with a Trump Administration that is much more receptive to the plight our members face with overregulation, endless red tape and unnecessary obligations. Certainly the repeal of the Title II order is of high priority, but in the grand scheme of things our members look forward to having more freedom to make business decisions without bureaucrats looking over their shoulders or running afoul of a steady stream of new rules. In addition, smaller providers face significant challenges regarding government-funded broadband projects, barriers to deployment, rising costs, and potential new fees for doing business. By addressing these issues, Congress and the Administration can empower our members to connect more Americans to high-speed internet.” |
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David Zaslav
President/CEO
Warner Bros. Discovery |
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| We have an upcoming new administration and it’s too early to tell, but it may offer a pace of change and an opportunity for consolidation that may be quite different and would provide a positive and accelerated impact on this industry. These are great companies, and if the best content is going to win, there needs to be some consolidation in order to have these businesses be stronger and to have a better consumer experience.” |
| How Did News Networks Meet the Moment? |
| The buildup to Election Day 2024 was immense due to President Biden’s decision to step down as the Democratic nominee, Vice President Harris taking the vacant slot, the assassination attempts on the life of Donald Trump and more. Beyond that, the expectation was that it could take several days to determine who would emerge as the victor of the presidential election. All hands were on deck at news networks to ensure they could keep viewers’ attention on their equivalent of the Super Bowl. Now the networks are building off of this election cycle with additions to their programming lineups in the hopes of converting those that tuned in on the big night into regular viewers. |
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Paul Brown
Executive Producer
C-SPAN |
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| With the election behind us, C-SPAN is shifting into high gear as we begin covering the lame-duck sessions in the House and Senate, featuring the looming Dec. 20 deadline to fund the government. Our coverage will include interviews with departing members of Congress as they wrap up their terms. As we close out the 118th Congress, we’re also gearing up for the 119th, with plans to introduce the incoming class of representatives and senators and prepare for the whirlwind first months of a new administration. We are following everything President-elect Trump is doing to move quickly to establish a smooth transition, announcing key figures who will serve in his administration as cabinet officials or top White House Staff. Looking ahead, we'll cover the election of the Speaker of the House on Jan. 3, the Joint Session of Congress' Electoral College vote count on Jan. 6, followed by comprehensive, all-day coverage of the Inauguration on Jan. 20." |
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Cherie Grzech
President of News and Politics
NewsNation |
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| There’s one thing that everyone somewhat agrees on in this election year—that it’s polarized. The country is very divided on where it stands, and NewsNation came into existence with no agenda. We’re the most politically-balanced audience among the networks, and that it allows us to have respect for all our viewers and to show the information, not get caught up in the fringes of where each party may be, but to give the facts about what is truly out there and let the people decide. We’re a place where people will return to because they’ll find that we’re not set up to tell anyone what they want to hear.” |
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Jessica Loker
VP, Politics
Fox News |
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| Fox News finished the election year as the most-watched network with more Democrats, Independents and Republicans tuning in compared to any of the competition. Our audience is the most engaged in cable news and we are confident our unrivaled news coverage and powerful opinion will keep them informed for the transition from the Biden administration to President-elect Trump’s second term, during the inauguration, throughout the first 100 days and beyond.” |
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Chris Ruddy
CEO
Newsmax |
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| Nobody makes news and headlines better than Donald Trump. Newsmax will have a front row seat to his historic presidency and we look forward to reporting on and covering ‘both sides’ of the major issues and controversies to come.” |
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Matt Simon
VP
Scripps News |
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| Scripps News is positioned to cover the Trump administration’s promise to reshape the government as we know it. We are launching a revamped programming lineup better geared to the streaming consumer across every major streaming and connected TV platform. A mix of live events, enterprise reporting, compelling investigations and explanatory fact-based journalism will keep viewers engaged by helping them understand what is happening in the country. We are integrating more deeply with our Scripps News local stations across 43 markets to bring viewers unparalleled reporting.” |
| A tight election always guarantees one thing—a steady flow of political advertising dollars. When Biden dropped out of the presidential race in July and endorsed Harris, there was a mad dash to make up for lost time. Even before the switching of nominees on the Democratic side, some firms released predictions expecting this to be the most expensive election cycle to date. In July, AdImpact released a report anticipating total spending to reach $10.69 billion, 19% growth over the 2019-2020 presidential cycle. Firms also continued monitoring the use of programmatic advertising to reach new audiences and how that improved targeting can make an impact. |
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Eric Davis
Head of Independent & Political, Programmatic Demand
FreeWheel |
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| 2024 was the year of programmatic CTV and we saw a 6x uptick in programmatic volume versus 2020. With a fast-changing election like we just had, programmatic streaming provided campaigns the ability to target their high-value audiences and the flexibility to adjust how they reached them.” |
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Chris Vail
VP, Political Sales
Effectv |
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| When the next election comes around, we’re going to see continued growth of addressable TV advertising. Reaching voters in a multiscreen environment is the reality we live in and you need the right recipe to make sure you’re not over-indexing for one group or missing out on another." |
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