On January 4, NAB submitted comments at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) responding to the agency's inquiry about broadcast station negotiations for carriage of additional affiliated programming as part of the retransmission consent process.
NAB stressed that broadcasters began negotiating for carriage of additional program services because cable operators refused to pay cash in retransmission negotiations. NAB emphasized that Congress established retransmission consent to create a marketplace in which broadcasters could negotiate for various forms of compensation for cable or satellite operators' use of their signals, and that the FCC has, on several prior occasions, specifically supported broadcasters' rights to negotiate for carriage of additional programming. Finally, our comments explained how consumers have benefited from the retransmission consent process and that cable’s complaints about the process are groundless. Reply comments are due by January 22.
To read NAB’s comments, click here.
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