SmartBrief
Confirm favorite deletion?
Communication Law Keyed to Benjamin, 2nd Ed.
Comcast Corp. v. Federal Communications Commission
Citation:
579 F.3d 1 (2009)Facts
In 1992, Congress passed the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act, directing the FCC to establish limits on cable operator market share to prevent operators from unfairly impeding the flow of video programming. The FCC initially set this limit at 30% of all subscribers. In 2001, the D.C. Circuit in Time Warner II rejected this limit and directed the FCC to consider the impact of competition from Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) providers. On remand, the FCC again established a 30% subscriber limit, using an “open field” analysis that determined a video programming network needed access to 70% of the market to be viable, thus no cable operator should serve more than 30% of subscribers. The FCC’s calculation was based on updated figures for minimum viable scale (19.03 million subscribers), total market size (96 million subscribers), and penetration rate (27.42%). Despite acknowledging competition from DBS providers, which had grown to serve approximately 33% of all subscribers, the FCC provided only general justifications for not fully incorporating this competition into its analysis, claiming that assessing such competition would be “quite difficult.”
Only StudyBuddy Pro offers the complete Case Brief Anatomy*
Access the most important case brief elements for optimal case understanding.
*Case Brief Anatomy includes: Brief Prologue, Complete Case Brief, Brief Epilogue
- The Brief Prologue provides necessary case brief introductory information and includes:
Topic:
Identifies the topic of law and where this case fits within your course outline.Parties:
Identifies the cast of characters involved in the case.Procedural Posture & History:
Shares the case history with how lower courts have ruled on the matter.Case Key Terms, Acts, Doctrines, etc.:
A case specific Legal Term Dictionary.Case Doctrines, Acts, Statutes, Amendments and Treatises:
Identifies and Defines Legal Authority used in this case.
- The Case Brief is the complete case summarized and authored in the traditional Law School I.R.A.C. format. The Pro case brief includes:
Brief Facts:
A Synopsis of the Facts of the case.Rule of Law:
Identifies the Legal Principle the Court used in deciding the case.Facts:
What are the factual circumstances that gave rise to the civil or criminal case? What is the relationship of the Parties that are involved in the case.Issue(s):
Lists the Questions of Law that are raised by the Facts of the case.Holding:
Shares the Court's answer to the legal questions raised in the issue.Concurring / Dissenting Opinions:
Includes valuable concurring or dissenting opinions and their key points.Reasoning and Analysis:
Identifies the chain of argument(s) which led the judges to rule as they did.
- The Brief Prologue closes the case brief with important forward-looking discussion and includes:
Policy:
Identifies the Policy if any that has been established by the case.Court Direction:
Shares where the Court went from here for this case.