Address Retrans Consent, Panelists Ask of Congress; Cicconi Seeks Industry Collegiality

A telecom executive who recently left retirement to return to AT&T (see 1909160049), meanwhile, wants the industry to return to collegial problem solving and away from an all-or-nothing approach. Jim Cicconi, interim senior executive vice president-external and legislative affairs, said the telco has a dictum internally: "Don't make permanent enemies. This is not warfare. Your opponents on one issue could be your friend on another." He said when AT&T has an objective that may differ from an agency's tack, the two may have different ideas of how to fix a problem, and the answer is often a mix of both. "See where you can forge some kind of consensus," he said. Even though that won't always work, he said, "it's worth the effort to try."

Telecom is "going through a period when the all-or-nothing voices" are loudest, Cicconi said. "That just paralyzes the process." He said industry and government have resolved "seemingly intractable problems in the past," and he hopes for similar again. He has found a "core collegiality" in the telecom industry that gives him faith it can find solutions to big issues like net neutrality, intellectual property piracy and data privacy.

A contentious issue discussed at another Phoenix panel was Capitol Hill's debate over whether to reauthorize the Satellite Television Extension & Localism Act. The law is set to expire Dec. 31 (see 1906040057). Some also seek a chance to open a larger conversation on the video market. Jeffrey Prince, FCC chief economist, predicted the current rules could be extended for another five years, but "what will it take to address the larger issue?"

Several smaller cable operators are leaving the video market rather than trying to keep up with increasingly costly retransmission negotiations, said Harris Wiltshire cable lawyer Michael Nilsson. That involves moving to broadband only. If Congress wants viewers to have access to all broadcast channels in a market, whether to support democracy or a diversity of voices, it should recognize that broadcaster blackouts don't allow consumers that choice, said George Ford, Phoenix chief economist. If video providers can't say no politically to offering local channels, he said, Congress must step in and address the issue of price.

Allowing customers to choose which local stations they pay for would make local programming better and pricing more competitive, said Dish Network Senior Vice President Jeff Blum. When such a policy was raised in the past, he said that "broadcasters went nuts." Blum said where a broadcast network decides not to enter a market, seek an FCC license and build the infrastructure needed to deliver a local signal, a provider should be able to continue to offer a distant signal. Truckers and RVs would also lose their distant stations, Blum said. Retrans for distant signals have risen at "hyperinflation" rates, Blum said. If STELA expires Dec. 31, broadcasters would have even more leverage to demand higher prices, he said.

NAB declined to appear because the panel "was stacked with four or five people who clearly don’t want broadcasters to be fairly compensated for programming," its spokesperson said later by phone. His sector's position is that "we should be fairly compensated for broadcast programming." Cable, not broadcast, carriage costs are behind rising pay-TV bills, he said, citing Kagan data. He also cited set-top box costs.

MVPDs aren't for a la carte, NAB's representative noted. Some cable operators that "are kind of outliers" have sought such channel unbundling, the rep said. He said NCTA doesn't want it, either. That association declined to comment.

The FCC should include more forward-looking analysis into any competition policy it addresses, Commissioner Brendan Carr said in a speech, accepting an award. Doing otherwise could risk locking in the status quo as the best we can hope for, he said. During Q&A, he said his best ideas tend to come while he's on the road (see 1911060052).