Retransmission Reform Advocates Call for Government to Step in

As the Oct. 15 deadline for a Fox/Cablevision deadline approached, groups pushing for retransmission reform weighed in with calls for the government to step in.

Public Knowledge called for at least keeping the programming on the air during negotiations while the parties "consider the use of arbitration." Public Knowledge was part of a group of petitioners that included cable operators, satellite operators and others calling on the FCC to mandate standstill agreements to keep programming on the air, and outside arbitration to help resolve the disputes. PK also sought "transparency for all retransmission consent contracts, and a requirement that retransmission consent licenses be on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms." "Now, New York area viewers may not see their Yankees in the American League playoffs, or the New York Giants play regular season games, if Cablevision doesn't reach agreements with three New York channels by tomorrow (Oct. 15)," said Public Knowledge's Gigi Sohn, adding that it could "also affect the Phillies in the National League Championship series."

Fress Press, another group that has argued the retrans marketplace is broken, weighed in at the FCC in an letter to Chairman Julius Genachowski. Free Press said that while it takes no position on the merits of those disputes, "to the extent that these situations inject uncertainty or result in the pulling of programming that consumers have paid for and expect to receive, the Commission must intervene to protect the public." Free press took the opportunity to push for arbitration as well mandatory break-outs of per-channel pricing, including retrans costs for TV station signals, and as a la carte.