Ajit Pai, the latest addition to President Donald Trump's team, will provide a cable-friendly approach to policy as the new FCC chairman, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei told CNBC on Tuesday.
"Ajit has been very anti-regulation, pro-free markets, particularly about net neutrality, Title II, a lot of the issues that are likely to be addressed under a new FCC and a Republican president, Republican Congress," Maffei said in a "Squawk Box" interview. "I think those are all very bullish for cable."
While Maffei said he doesn't think that the central principle of net neutrality will be revised, Pai's nomination does open doors for other changes in the cable and streaming industries.
"The idea that you might be able to charge for quality of service, for variability, the amount of traffic, the speed of the traffic, how you want to make sure the traffic is delivered, might change the ability to price it," Maffei said.
"Does that fundamentally change the game for over-the-top providers? I doubt it," he continued, referring to content providers like Netflix that provide content by way of internet connection rather than cable. But on the margin, it's better for the cable companies, he added.