Death Of Retrans By A Thousand Cuts

[Commentary] The recent Federal Communications Commission ruling that municipalities can no longer regulate the rates of local cable systems could have harmful consequences for broadcasters. It seems that under a certain interpretation, systems would be able to move broadcast channels out of basic cable tiers that have the nice attribute of reaching 100 percent of subscribers, a potent weapon come retransmission negotiating time. And that wasn't the first piece of broadcasters' retransmission clout that the Wheeler FCC whittled away. What's next?