MAP, PK Call for Major Program Carriage Changes

The Federal Communications Commission has proposed changes to its program carriage rules, which included providing for standstills during program carriage disputes and price "true ups" for the winners of complaints about non-carriage, as well as a number of other changes.

In joint comments on the proposal, Media Access Project and Public Knowledge said the FCC should adopt baseball-style arbitration for program carriage disputes, as well as a shot clock for action on complaints, expedited discovery, putting the burden on complaint defendants to "establish a non-discriminatory reason for its carriage decision" -- per program access rules -- and applying the rules to online video delivery. "[L]ax and delayed enforcement of the rules added to the growing sentiment among video programming vendors that pursuing a program carriage complaint would be a moot point," said the groups in their filing. "The recent revisions of the program carriage rules, combined with the proposals in the NPRM, do much to reconcile the rules regime with Congressional intent."