[opendtv] News: ACA asks FCC to allow market forces to govern retransmission consent price
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 10:46:15 -0500
Via Broadcast Engineering's Beyond The Headlines Newsletter:
http://broadcastengineering.com/newsletters/bth/20050327/#
ACA asks FCC to allow market forces to govern retransmission consent price
Mar 27, 2005 8:00 AM, Beyond The Headlines e-newsletter
The American Cable Association (ACA) has asked the FCC to allow the
market to determine the price of retransmission consent.
Specifically, the trade group, which represents small and independent
cable operators, asked the commission to adjust broadcast exclusivity
and retransmission consent regulations to reflect marketplace changes
for broadcasters, consumers and cable companies.
The cable group wants the FCC to maintain broadcast exclusivity for
stations that elect must-carry or that do not seek additional payment
for retransmission consent. It wants the elimination of exclusivity
when a broadcaster elects retransmission consent and seeks additional
payment for carriage.
The ACA asked the FCC to prohibit any party, including a network,
from preventing a broadcast station from granting retransmission
consent. Every three years broadcasters can choose must-carry or
retransmission consent.
However, according to the ACA, broadcasters use current FCC rules to
demand payment for carriage and at the same time rely on other FCC
rules to prevent consumers and their cable providers from shopping
for lower-cost alternatives. Without reform, the group said, this
year's broadcast cash demands threaten to add more than $860 million
to the cost of basic cable.
The FCC has released the ACA's petition for rulemaking for public comment.
For more information, visit www.americancable.org and www.fcc.gov.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:
- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at
FreeLists.org
- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word
unsubscribe in the subject line.
Other related posts:
- » [opendtv] News: ACA asks FCC to allow market forces to govern retransmission consent price
