ACA Presses FCC on Bundling of Programming, Retransmission Consent Fees

American Cable Association executives met with new Federal Communications Commission Media Bureau Bill Lake last week, to make their case against bundling of programming, Internet business models they argue boost costs to operators and consumers, and retransmission consent fees they say fall disproportionately more heavily on smaller operators. ACA has singled out ESPN360 as one of those services that could drive up retail prices and drive down broadband adoption, saying at the Independent Cable Show last month that the association was "drawing a line in the sand." But ESPN parent Disney has called the claims unsubstantiated and an attempt to get valuable programming for free. "We don't force distributors small or large to carry any of our product," David Preschlack, executive VP of affiliate sales and marketing, for Disney and ESPN Media Networks, told B&C back in June. "ESPN360.com is a business that would simply not exist except for this economic model."