NBC's new deal with affiliates may be topic of discussion at FCC

NBC appears to have reached a peace accord on the retransmission issue with its local television station partners. The network and its affiliates are positioning this as a win for them and consumers. Though the two sides have not said what the split of so-called retransmission consent fees would be, the idea is that the stations have a better chance of getting more money from distributors if they team up and have NBC fronting for them than if they go it alone. But NBC’s plans may hit a bump in the road in the form of the Federal Communications Commission.

Earlier this year, after getting heat from Congress following several high-profile disputes between cable operators and programmers that led to or nearly led to service disruptions, the FCC launched a proceeding to review its retransmission consent rules to determine whether there were some actions it could take that would limit disruptions to consumers and make for smoother negotiations between programmers and distributors. One of the aspects the FCC said it wanted to look at was the role a network played in the negotiation efforts of its affiliate. Specifically, the FCC said it wanted comments on “whether it would be a per se violation for a station to agree to give a network with which it is affiliated the right to approve a retransmission consent agreement with an MVPD (Multichannel Video Programming Distributor) or to comply with such an approval position.” Although NBC’s deal with its affiliates is not specifically what the FCC is seeking comment on, it is virtually the same thing. By turning over negotiating rights to NBC, the affiliates are basically letting the networks sign off on the contracts. Cable operators are likely to make noise at the FCC about NBC’s efforts. Distributors would rather negotiate with one station in one town than a network representing multiple stations.