Senate Democrats Want FCC to Mediate Verizon/Univision Impasse

Democratic Sens have called on Univision and Verizon (with an assist from the Federal Communications Commission) to settle their retransmission consent impasse, which has kept Univision nets off Verizon's FiOS pay-TV and mobile wireless platforms since Oct 16.

In a letter to Verizon and Univision CEO's Lowell McAdam and Randy Falco, respectively, as well as to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, the senators expressed their concern with the ongoing dispute, pointing to the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico and the importance of Spanish-language news. They said they were not weighing in on who was right or wrong in the dispute, saying they recognized they were "contractual discussions between private parties," But they asked the FCC to bring those parties together--there is precedent for that--so the negotiations can conclude and the impasse be resolved. They said consumers were being unfairly disadvantaged. Signing on to the letter were Sens Ed Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Ben Cardin (D-MD).