NCTA: Gannett/Belo Deal Highlights Need to Disallow Joint Retransmission Negotiations

In an ex parte response to broadcaster comments on the issue, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association pointed out it has urged the Federal Communications Commission to prevent broadcasters form using local marketing agreements or other joint arrangements to negotiate retransmission deals.

"Antitrust law recognizes that such coordination, collusive negotiation, and fixing of prices is so devoid of any countervailing benefits to consumers that it is generally per se unlawful," NCTA said in response to National Association of Broadcasters filings on the FCC's media ownership rule review and its open retransmission consent docket. The cable trade group said that none of broadcasters' arguments -- that the agreements don't make fees "dramatically higher," that those fees are only a small portion of cable costs; and that non-overlapping cable operator joint retrans negotiations is comparable to same-market coordinated negotiations -- hold up under scrutiny.