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Program suppliers, on the other hand, reap most of the lucrative back-end revenue from selling syndicated reruns of hit network shows (the nets were forbidden by FCC rules to share in that pool until recently). And local stations have much higher profit margins because they can benefit from network hits, in the form of increased ad revenue, without having to share in the costs; the networks instead pay the stations "compensation" as an inducement to carry their programming. This has put the networks in a squeeze, as license fees for hit shows and major sports events have soared...
Ironically, much of this consolidation is the result of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, a law that purported to stop this kind of customer hoarding. It hasn't worked. Says Senator John McCain: "The FCC's obfuscation and delay have blocked competition, so when companies can't get into each other's businesses, they buy in." Is there any chance of a federal rewrite to fix the problems? Says McCain: "The horse has left the barn, which I deeply regret...
...Justice Department, however, recently began a probe of illicit payments allegedly made to radio stations by Latin-music giant Fonovisia Records.) Pay-for-play is done out in the open, with the money going to the station, not the deejay. And it's all perfectly legal. Under FCC rules, such payments are O.K., so long as the station identifies the song as paid for, usually with a brief announcement ("This record was brought to you by...") before or after the song. It's a record-industry version of those infomercials you see on late-night TV. You may think...
...lucky, each of them will do a lot more for you than the former AT&T monopoly. Tuesday's announcement that local phone giant Bell Atlantic will swallow GTE certainly positions it to be one of the last Bells standing -- but expect the FCC to make sure it gives a little, first...
...Bell Atlantic, AT&T -- all these companies want their brand to be one-stop shopping: local phone service, long-distance service and Internet access," says TIME business correspondent John Greenwald. "The FCC just needs to ensure that there are more than one of these brands in each market." Under the Telecommunications Act, the Baby Bells have to give up their monopoly on the local markets -- and that hasn't happened yet, which is a major hurdle for this merger. But if it's approved, Bell Atlantic, armed with GTE's long-distance service, will have taken a step toward crossover...