FCC Can't Intervene in Hulu-Sinclair RSN Carriage Dispute, Rosenworcel Says
The FCC can’t get involved in a dispute between Disney-controlled Hulu + Live TV and Sinclair over carriage of 21 Sinclair-owned regional sports networks (see 2011050059), acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a letter to Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, released…
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Thursday. Brown wrote Rosenworcel, Disney Executive Vice President-Corporate Finance Christine McCarthy and Sinclair CEO Christopher Ripley in January about the dispute, saying it threatened to cut off more than 100,000 Ohio Hulu subscribers’ ability to get local sports content via the streaming service. The FCC “does not have jurisdiction over carriage disputes involving non-MVPD over-the-top linear video providers” like Hulu, given Communications Act Section 616, and the commission’s carriage rules “only govern negotiations between third-party video programming vendors” and MVPDs, Rosenworcel said. “Nonetheless, I share your interest in the parties continuing to negotiate in good faith and hope they will come to agreement to minimize any disruption” to Hulu subscribers.