The FCC should establish procedural protections to prevent broadc...

The FCC should establish procedural protections to prevent broadcasters from abusing the retransmission consent complaint process against small and medium-sized cable companies, ACA said in comments responding to the FCC’s notice of proposed rulemaking in the Satellite Home Viewer Extension & Reauthorization Act (SHVERA). The protections would include 30 days’ written notice to the cable operator of the broadcaster’s intent to file a complaint, and an extended, 30-day period in which to respond to the complaint, ACA said. The Commission should make it clear that the good-faith negotiation requirement applies equally to all broadcasters, both in-market and out-of-market. The FCC also should clarify that it’s not a violation of the good faith negotiation requirement for a cable operator to decline to carry programming streams other than primary video, ACA said. NCTA said in its comments that the FCC shouldn’t impose reciprocal good faith negotiation rules for multichannel video program distributors (MVPDs) that “essentially nullify the market- driven role of retransmission consent.” The Commission’s rules should make it clear that if an MVPD is prohibited from refusing to engage in retransmission consent negotiations with a broadcast station, its refusal to pay for carriage may not be construed as “bad faith,” NCTA said. In addition, the rule shouldn’t interfere with an MVPD’s right to exercise its business judgment or editorial discretion not to carry a particular broadcaster who opts for retransmission consent instead of must carry, NCTA said.