The National Association of Broadcasters has, not surprisingly, told the FCC that any "substantial and numerous changes" that service providers want to existing retransmission consent rules are unnecessary and unwarranted.
The FCC is gathering comments from across the industry as it ponders what, exactly, to do about rules that allow broadcasters to charge service providers for over-the-air television signals. Negotiations for these fees have created a spate of blackouts and other service disruptions and the service providers have been peppering the Commission with suggestions how to better control the situation.
NAB, on its website, makes its position clear: "Viewers, local broadcast stations and pay-TV operators all benefit from the retransmission consent process. These negotiations are fair and market-driven, and there is no need to change the process that Congress established and has worked well for nearly two decades."
In comments directly to the FCC it takes especial umbrage at changes that might would prohibit joint negotiations, enable government mandated mediation, define good faith bargaining, scrap syndicated exclusivity and network no duplication and add bad faith bargaining violations to license renewal processes, a story in Broadcasting & Cable said.
For more:
- Broadcasting & Cable has this story
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