Dwindling Retrans Blackout Numbers Please Genachowski
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said he’s “pleased” TV station blackouts on subscription-video providers seemed to have been kept in check as retransmission consent contracts expired and often were renewed at year’s end. Retrans blackouts and “very serious disruptions to consumers” were kept to “a minimum” in the cycle of agreements that expired around Dec. 31, he said Wednesday. “I know that took some work on the part of cable operators and broadcasters to get there -- so that’s good news.” Cable executives also speaking to an American Cable Association conference said FCC retrans rules need fixing, while broadcast officials said the system works.
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The commission has “heard very clearly from both the cable operators and the consumers that they're concerned about what’s happening” on retrans, Genachowski said. “It’s why we launched a proceeding last year to look at what the FCC’s options are, the ways the marketplace may have changed over the years, whether there are recommendations” for the FCC to make to Congress on legislative changes, he said in a Q-and-A with ACA President Matt Polka. “As you know, Matt, our options are very limited for ways to revise the way the system works. But this proceeding has already provided useful data that are being studied.” The commission issued a rulemaking notice last year on retrans, which cable and broadcast executives have said may not soon become the basis for new rules (CD Jan 27 p3).
More blackouts would mean more FCC scrutiny of retrans, Genachowski said. “The more blackouts and consumer disruptions and complaints, the closer look it'll get. So we continue to be aware of the issues, very welcoming of your input and it’s something we'll be working on together.” The agency lacks “a really clear picture” of recently signed deals, Genachowski said. “We'd like to see the marketplace work here … in a way that delivers benefits to everyone in the ecosystem.” The commission is “open” to retrans solutions for small operators, he said.
Genachowski hopes those subject to the CALM Act will avoid any “embarrassing” slew of TV station and subscription-video viewer complaints about ads much louder than regular shows, he said. “The system we put in place is one that will rely on complaints” and not FCC audits, he said: “Many consumers already think the problem has been fixed, so let’s work together to minimize complaints,” since “we're all in this together."
The FCC would extend an exemption for small cable operators that don’t have to carry HD signals of must-carry stations “if the record continues to support an extension,” Genachowski said about viewability rules expiring in June. They were the subject of comments to the FCC this week (CD March 14 p6). “The record really matters” in the proceeding, as it does on USF, Genachowski said. (See separate report in this issue.) “It is worth your time and effort to make sure that we have the record that we need to make sure that our rules treat you all fairly. And we'll do that trade every time -- if we have the record, we'll do the right thing,” Genachowski said: The “facts matter."
The ACA is “the most hopeful we've been” that retrans rules will change, since the FCC seems “open and willing” to act on problems, Chairman Colleen Abdoulah told reporters. Since “not all station drops are publicized,” the agency may not always hear about contract disputes, said Massillon Cable President Robert Gessner. “You could say the system of retransmission consent is not broken, but it only works for one party,” he said of stations. The occasional blackout shows retrans works, since the 1992 Cable Act letting stations charge for carriage envisioned disputes, broadcast lawyer Antoinette Bush of Skadden Arps said on a retrans panel. She cited an ongoing blackout in Texas of Cordillera Communications’ stations on Time Warner Cable systems. “The benefits are all really on one side” with retrans, said Time Warner Cable Vice President Cristina Pauze. Because “deals are getting done,” odds are “extremely slim” Congress would change retrans law anytime soon, said broadcast lawyer Scott Flick of Pillsbury. “Congress doesn’t like dealing with controversial things, particularly in an election year.”