Media companies push back against Reps. Israel, King

Executives from six major media organizations wrote to Reps. Peter King (R-NY) and Steve Israel (D-NY) on July 19 after the pair pushed for an overhaul of retransmission consent rules.

At stake are the regulations governing fee negotiations between broadcasters and paid distributors such as cable and satellite operators. Distributors say television broadcast stations have too much power in the talks because they can pull their content. Broadcasters argue that cable and satellite's dependence on their programming means that broadcasters deserve muscle to negotiate their compensation.

Signed by executives from News Corporation, Walt Disney, CBS Corporation, the National Association of Broadcasters, NBC Universal, and Univision Communications, the Monday letter asked Israel and King to rethink their stance. The pair had circulated a "dear colleague" letter trying to galvanize support for rules changes and calling on the Federal Communications Commission to take up the issue.