ACA Connects CEO braces for big regulatory 'reset,' says Venu JV is deadACA Connects CEO braces for big regulatory 'reset,' says Venu JV is dead

With a new Trump administration entering power in late January, the regulatory wheels are already in motion and work is underway to prepare for big changes likely to arrive in 2025.

Following up on a conversation with Light Reading in August prior to the election, ACA Connects CEO Grant Spellmeyer joins the podcast to discuss how the Trump administration and changes in leadership at the FCC will impact policies and the hundreds of small and midsized cable and broadband operators that ACA Connects represents.

Spellmeyer generally believes that the new administration will be good for ACA Connects' membership. Notably, the decision to appoint FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr as Chairman will "reset" the regulatory picture, to the benefit of his constituents, he says.

"My members are certainly excited and optimistic about the future," Spellmeyer says, noting that ACA Connects recently wrapped up its fourth quarter board meeting. "We are overall quite pleased with what we think the direction of the FCC and the regulatory outlook in Washington, D.C., is going to look like in 2025… We think that Chairperson Carr will do a fantastic job of setting a pro-deregulatory environment."

Spellmeyer is hopeful that the new FCC will help to clear away some "regulatory barriers" and provide broader streamlining that can help to accelerate the pace of broadband network deployments.

"I think there is a big reset coming," Spellmeyer says, adding that he believes Carr will be able to move ahead on some initiatives even before the FCC can fill all five of its seats.

Meanwhile, there's an expectation that broadband operators will eventually be moving forward without the burden of Title II-based network neutrality rules that have been stayed by the Sixth Circuit.

"We think we're going to win that case," Spellmeyer says. If not, he expects that a future, fully-seated FCC will quickly move to roll back the rules.

BEAD uncertainty

Spellmeyer also comments on potential new outcomes for the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program and how that initiative might evolve under the new administration.

"There's a lot of chatter out there about everything from shutting the program down entirely and taking all the money and redirecting it somewhere else, to playing at the edges," he says. If the program survives, he expects some alterations to the program requirements, including the use of alternative, non-fiber options.

Spellmeyer believes the NTIA did the right thing by applying a fiber preference to BEAD (something that ACA Connects also advocated for), but he also holds that it makes sense for the program to turn to satellite broadband in high-cost areas. "I think there is a role for satellite to play," he says.

Venu 'dead' as-is, but could be reimagined

Switching to video, Spellmeyer has been outspoken about the proposed Venu Sports joint venture of Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery, believing it's unfair for the JV to develop a skinny sports bundle without making it available to others, including ACA Connects members that have long sought out agreements allowing for more flexible programming packages.

"We've consistently been told [by programmers] that wasn't possible, couldn't be done," Spellmeyer says of Venu's plans to build a skinny, sports-focused package. "Then these guys show up with this project for which they're going to make available to themselves."

Spellmeyer remains pleased that a court has blocked the JV and doesn't expect it to go forward as currently envisioned.

"I think Venu is dead," Spellmeyer says, adding that it could be re-envisioned.

There's much more to come in 2025. Expect ACA Connects to provide an updated view on the full gamut of regulatory issues at its annual Summit, set for March 4-6 in Washington, DC.

Here's a snapshot of our conversation (click the closed captioning button in the player for a lightly edited transcript):