Cable operators file petition with FCC

The retransmission war is heating up in Washington. A group of major cable operators, satellite TV providers DirecTV and Dish Network, and Verizon filed a petition Tuesday with the Federal Communications Commission urging a review and changes to the law that governs negotiations between broadcast TV station owners and cable, satellite and telco operators for carriage of local stations.

The move comes in the wake of the showdown on Sunday between Disney and Cablevision over the retrans deal for WABC-TV New York, which came to a head on the night of ABC's live telecast of the Oscars. The cable operators are expected to ask the FCC to mandate that broadcasters cannot yank their signals in the midst of fee negotiations but rather submit to some form of arbitration if the sides can't reach a deal. An FCC spokeswoman declined comment on the issue. Broadcasters are sure to fight hard against the push for a retrans revamp. Local stations are increasingly counting on fees from subscription TV services to help offset declining local advertising revenue.