In response to the pay TV business’s assist of an FCC proposal to require MVPDs to report blackouts ensuing from impasses in retransmission consent negotiations, the National Association of Broadcasters has filed a quick with the FCC that disputes the notion that retransmission disputes are more and more leading to blackouts of broadcast indicators for pay TV subscribers. The NAB additionally continued to dispute the FCC’s regulatory authority to impose a blackout reporting requirement on MVPDs and argued that the requirement “additionally is not going to obtain any significant advantages for shoppers.”“If, nonetheless, the Commission remains to be intent on adopting some model of the proposed guidelines, it ought to present shoppers with a extra full image by requiring MVPDs to report on each the restricted disruptions in broadcast sign carriage on pay TV providers and on all retransmission consent agreements efficiently reached with none negotiating impasses,” the temporary stated. “Anything in need of that may undoubtedly mislead shoppers and others, together with policymakers, as to the precise frequency of retransmission consent disputes and would supply a robust incentive for MVPDs to proceed to fabricate impasses.”In its arguments in opposition to the proposal the NAB additionally argued “it’s well-established that the FCC’s [proposed reporting requirements] would promote MVPDs’ pursuits in publicizing negotiating impasses and encourage extra disruptions in broadcast sign carriage.”“Indeed, an impasse-only reporting requirement may simply improve confusion amongst shoppers and others, together with policymakers, about how typically disruptions in broadcast sign carriage truly happen,” the NAB argued. “The Notice itself erroneously asserts that the variety of sign carriage disruptions has `elevated dramatically,’ a notion perpetuated and echoed by pay TV filers.”In reality, the NAB cited Kagan knowledge exhibiting “disruptions are uncommon, with simply 18 disruptions over the previous 4 years from January 2020 – December 2023, or 4.5 disruptions per 12 months. This is about the identical frequency as was the case for the primary 20 years of the retransmission consent regime in accordance with knowledge within the Notice (i.e., 81 disruptions over 20 years, or 4.05 disruptions per 12 months). The common size of disruptions additionally will not be on the rise and has various vastly over the previous ten years, with no constant route up or down.”In its submitting the NAB additionally blasted a proposal by the NTCA to dramatically improve the quantity of knowledge disclosed throughout retrans negotiations to incorporate pricing and different phrases. The skilled video business’s #1 supply for information, tendencies and product and tech info. Sign up under.“Finally, NTCA in its feedback urges the Commission to require MVPDs to supply much more info as a part of the proposed reporting requirement, together with proposed costs, phrases, and situations of retransmission consent proposals made throughout negotiations and to declare invalid any nondisclosure provisions of retransmission consent,” the NAB stated. “Clearly, the Commission has no authority to require the costs, phrases, and situations of retransmission consent proposals or agreements to be made public, or to declare provisions of privately negotiated contracts invalid by regulatory fiat. In adopting its good religion negotiation necessities, the Commission explicitly held that events want solely present causes for rejecting any facet of a retransmission consent proposal, and explicitly rejected the concept of events supplying proof or documentation, stating that `an info sharing or discovery mechanism’ could be extremely problematic as a result of broadcasters and MVPDs `are rivals and the knowledge concerned would, in most situations, be competitively delicate.’ Requiring the disclosure of such competitively delicate materials additionally would increase critical questions underneath the Trade Secrets Act. The good religion guidelines already require the events to supply causes for rejecting any points of a retransmission consent supply, and NTCA offers no rationale as to why enforcement of this requirement is inadequate. The Commission shouldn’t think about NTCA’s flawed proposal.”
https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/nab-disputes-fcc-contention-that-retrans-blackouts-have-increased-dramatically
