The time has come to update government regulations and controls to better oversee the behavior of "the titans of the new economy," who, when they collide only end up hurting consumers, according to Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, writing in Politico. The former presidential candidate took dead aim at the ongoing dispute--and at this point that may be too mild a term for what's going on--between Cablevision Systems (NYSE: CVC) and News Corp. (Nasdaq: NWSA) over retransmission fees for Fox broadcast networks.
"I have worked on these kinds of disputes for years and it is clear now that the problem is systemic," Kerry wrote. "New market forces have outpaced regulation.
Kerry, while pushing for new laws and regulations, did leave an opening. "Good public policy-making and oversight means it's our job to leave alone the systems that are working," he wrote.
It's clear, though, that he, and most others looking at ongoing retransmission disputes, don't think the systems are working.
For more:
- see this opinion piece
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