ACA Calls On FCC To Probe TV Duopolies

The American Cable Association called on the Federal Communications Commission to open a proceeding to examine local marketing agreements (LMAs) used by broadcasters to, in its words, "attain even more bargaining power over small, independent cable operators in negotiations for signal carriage through retransmission consent." ACA said LMAs enable one broadcaster to negotiate retransmission consent on behalf of two or more broadcasters within the same local market, despite FCC duopoly rules that generally prohibit common ownership of two TV stations in the same local market to protect consumers and advertisers from anti-competitive conduct by broadcasters.