WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Association of Broadcasters has filed comments with the FCC opposing the FCC’s proposed new rules that would require MVPDs to report blackouts of services during retransmission consent disputes to the agency.
The cable industry-backed NCTA has come out generally in favor of the proposals with some revisions. "We also do not object to the Commission’s proposal to place the reporting responsibility on MVPDs so long as such obligation in no way implies that the cable operator is at fault for the station no longer being carried on its system," the NCTA argued in a filing.
The rural telecom association NTCA worried that the proposal would impose additional regulatory requirements on small operators. It also argued that if the FCC imposed the blackout reporting requirements, they needed to dig into the issue of retransmission consent and require information on pricing and other issues relating to the disputes.
In a Feb. 27 filing with the FCC, the NAB argued that “the Commission should not adopt its proposal. First, the proposal exceeds the FCC’s very limited authority relating to retransmission consent under the Communications Act of 1934 (Act). The proposed requirements also do not fit within the FCC’s authority to regulate the customer service or public interest obligations of certain MVPDs. Moreover, because the proposed requirements do not appear to serve any discernible purpose, they would violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Finally, given that much of the pay TV industry’s advocacy before Congress and the Commission is entirely dependent upon highlighting (i.e., generating) disputes with broadcasters, NAB anticipates that the creation of this database will, if anything, incentivize more retransmission consent impasses, rather than reducing them. Accordingly, we urge the Commission not to adopt the proposed reporting requirement or host the related database.”
In arguing that the proposed rules might actually increase retransmission consent disputes, the NAB cited the pay TV’s long standing opposition to pay retrans fees.
“Given the pay TV industry’s ongoing strategy of seeking to make the system of retransmission consent appear “broken,” a Commission-hosted database with data on signal carriage disruptions due to retransmission consent disputes would be akin to failing to fence one’s backyard pool on a scorching summer day in a neighborhood full of children,” the NAB argued. “The Commission may find that it merely has created an “attractive nuisance” that incentivizes more disruptions. To avoid increasing consumer harms, NAB urges the Commission to decline to create any additional disincentives for MVPDs to reach timely, successful retransmission consent agreements.”
