ACA to FCC: Block Blackouts, Require True-Ups

In a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn, American Cable Association President Matthew Polka asked the FCC to adopt a rule mandating carriage during retransmission impasses, saying the FCC prevents blackouts that disadvantage broadcasters, so it should certainly do so when they hurt consumers.

He proposed what he said was a narrowly tailored solution, which is that the FCC adopt "a rule mandating that broadcasters and MVPDs continue to offer a broadcast station's signal to consumers after an existing retransmission consent agreement expires and while the terms of a new agreement are pending resolution of a dispute. Under this proposed rule, the parties' existing retransmission consent agreement would automatically be extended past its expiration date, and an MVPD would continue to pay the broadcaster for retransmission consent rights per such contract."