CFIF Urges DOJ to Push FCC on Retrans Rules Changes
The Antitrust Division should prod the FCC to eliminate network nonduplication and syndicated rules and to clarify material degradation and buy-through rules apply only to must-carry stations, said the Center for Individual Freedom in a letter to DOJ Tuesday. CFIF…
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said that would allow free-market governance of carriage terms of stations and likely cut pricing. It said there's no justification for regulating carriage conditions when a broadcaster elects retransmission consent. The FCC didn't comment. An NAB spokesman emailed that the agency "has conducted multiple reviews of retransmission consent and concluded there is no justification for government interference in a free market negotiation process" and "broadcasters and pay-TV providers have every incentive to reach successful retrans agreements [which is] why 99 percent of these deals are concluded successfully, with no drama and no disruption of service to viewers.” DOJ has a Thursday roundtable on anticompetitive regulations.