Congress must put TV viewers first

The laws and regulations that govern the video marketplace, and in particular the relationship between broadcasters and pay-TV providers, are in a sorry state. They weren’t planned by anyone. Instead, they’ve accumulated over the decades, as policymakers’ objectives changed over time (in sometimes inconsistent ways).

To make out any rhyme or reason to the regulatory scheme that is in place today, you have to be as much of a historian as a lawyer. Unsurprisingly, a dysfunctional regulatory system results in a dysfunctional marketplace. The “retransmission consent” rules, which control how pay-TV providers carry broadcast signals, have become the leading example of what’s wrong with the current system. If these rules were phased out, viewers who opted out of paying for supposedly “free” broadcast programming would not have to fumble around with rabbit ears or a rooftop antenna, or switch their TVs between different “modes.” It would make sense for pay TV companies and third-party manufacturers to provide consumers with set-top boxes that seamlessly integrated over-the-air signals with other content in a seamless user interface. Needless to say, these devices don’t exist today, because of the restrictive rules that makes the market for them illegal. The existing rules are slanted too far in favor of broadcasters. Congress should fix this, not to benefit any one industry, but to help viewers.

[John Bergmayer is a senior staff attorney at Public Knowledge]