The American Cable Association renewed its push to get the FCC to charge satellite TV companies Dish Network and DirecTV the same regulatory fees that it charges cable and IPTV operators.
In comments sent to the FCC, ACA notes that the agency’s latest notice of proposed rulemaking proposes a 96-cent-per-subscriber fee on cable and telco operators in fiscal 2017, but only a 38-cent-per-sub fee for DBS providers.
“This increase brings cable and IPTV and DBS providers closer to regulatory parity, and while appreciated, still results in cable/IPTV providers paying 58 cents per subscriber more than DBS providers—a fee that is more than 150% higher,” ACA said in its comments.
RELATED: ACA says satellite, cable providers should pay equal regulatory fees
The trade group added, “There is no reason for delay bringing DBS into full parity with cable/IPTV for FY 2017. Cable, IPTV and DBS providers impose similar burdens on the Media Bureau. It is inequitable to continue to assess fees in a manner that does not equitably distribute the regulatory fee burden among all MVPD payors that impose regulatory oversight burdens on Media Bureau FTEs. The commission should rectify this regulatory disparity and raise the DBS subcategory fee to achieve full parity with the cable/IPTV fee category rate in FY 2017.”
It’s worth nothing that ACA made similar comments a year ago as the FCC worked to set regulatory rates. At that time, the agency was charging cable and telco operators $1 per sub and DBS companies only 24 cents per customer.