A draft order to make joint sales agreements...
A draft order to make joint sales agreements attributable “appears flawed and not in the public interest,” said FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly in a written statement Monday. “Even before receiving the specifics of the proposal, I strenuously disagree with the…
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intended direction.” O'Rielly and fellow Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai have not been involved in the drafting process for the new rules (CD Feb 12 p1). The draft order was set to be circulated to all commissioners Monday. O'Rielly said the JSA proposal would impair the ability of broadcasters to offer local programming and “would establish a very subjective ‘Mother-May-I’ approach to obtain or retain a JSA, which is a recipe for market uncertainty and reduced offerings.” O'Rielly said he hopes the order will be “dramatically changed” before being presented to the commission. The JSA report and order was listed on the commission’s released tentative agenda for the March 31 meeting, along with an NPRM seeking comment on disclosure of shared services agreements. The meeting will also feature a draft order banning joint negotiation of retransmission consent negotiations and an FNPRM seeking comment on whether to eliminate the network non-duplication and syndicated exclusivity rules. The commission will also consider an FNPRM kicking off the 2014 quadrennial review, the agenda said (http://fcc.us/1cPAnWZ).