FCC denies programmers' plea to limit document access during merger reviews

The FCC has denied a request made by top media conglomerates to restrict access for 245 individuals to see deal-related documents as part of ongoing pay-TV merger reviews.

According to Multichannel News, the Federal Communications Commission said that the programmers--which include Disney, Fox, Time Warner Inc. and Viacom--provide no basis as to why the vast majority of individuals in question should be denied access to the documents.

The FCC considers the documents, which relate to program licensing deals made between programmers and pay-TV operators, relevant to its ongoing reviews of the proposed Comcast/Time Warner Cable and AT&T/DirecTV mergers.

The FCC denied a request that the documents be viewed only by the Department of Justice and not the commission. However, it upheld a decision intended to prevent "competitive decision-makers" from seeing the documents.

For more:
- read this Multichannel News story

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