ACA Sees Hopeful Signs On Retransmission Remake

American Cable Association President Matt Polka gave Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski several shout-outs Tuesday for his comments at the National Association of Broadcasters, suggesting there could be problems with the retransmission-consent system.

"Reforming" a system referred to more than once at Tuesday's Washington policy fly-in as "extortion" is one of a couple of key priorities for the group, which represents small and mid-sized operators, whose members maintain they are often required to pay bigger programming license fees for being smaller. He called a "very helpful signal" the chairman's point that "when you start looking at rates the way they are impacted by retransmission consent, how can you keep calling it free TV?"