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/ 07.14.2010 2:00PM
Pay TV Alliance Formed to Fight Retrans
WASHINGTON: The fight over retransmission consent
escalated today when a group of pay TV providers joined forces to prohibit
broadcasters from pulling signals. The broadcast lobby quickly shot back with
10-year record of cable-rate increases.
AT&T, The American Cable Association, Cablevision, DirecTV, Dish Network,
The New America Foundation, Public Knowledge, Time Warner Cable, Verizon and 22
other groups formed the American Television Alliance.
“The mission of the new coalition, which officially launched today, is to ensure
consumers are not harmed--or their favorite shows held hostage--in negotiations
for carriage of broadcast programming,” the ATVA said in announcing its
existence. “Under the current law, broadcasters may cut off their television
signals and shows from video service providers and consumers if they do not
receive the compensation they demand.”
The ATVA said retransmission consent rules--allowing broadcasters to charge for
the carriage of their signals on cable and satellite systems--are outdated.
Broadcasters once provided signals to for free, but when pay TV operators began
charging extra for high-definition tiers, broadcasters went after payments. The
negotiations over those payments has always been contentious. Parties typically
go into overtime, and broadcast signals sometimes get yanked from pay
platforms.
“Public Knowledge has consistently said that consumers should not be harmed by
disputes between broadcasters and video providers,” said Gigi B. Sohn,
president and co-founder of Public Knowledge. “Among other ideas we have
suggested, we believe lawmakers and/or the FCC should consider requiring
interim carriage of over-the-air stations should a retransmission consent
agreement expire while the parties are still negotiating.”
Soon after the ATVA announced its formation, the National Association of
Broadcasters responded by providing SNL Kagan data on cable rates. From 1999-2009, annual
cable rate increases exceeded inflation, sometimes by two, three, and nearly
four times.
“The notion that Time Warner and its big pay TV allies are part of a group
designed ‘to protect consumers’ is about as credible as BP executives joining
Greenpeace,” the NAB’s Dennis Wharton said. “Pay TV built its business on the
backs of broadcast programming, and it is not unreasonable for local TV
stations to expect fair compensation for the most-watched shows on television.
The ultimate irony is that big pay TV was against government intervention
before it was for it, as evidenced by their continued opposition to net
neutrality rules.”
The ATVA, in turn, took its case to lawmakers via the people at
www.americantelevisionalliance.org,
a Web site listing its members and its mission: “to give consumers a voice and
ask lawmakers to protect consumers by reforming outdated rules that do not
reflect today’s marketplace.”
-- Deborah D. McAdams
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Sunday 12:00AM
EBU Pushes Hybrid Broadcast/Broadband TV
“Underlying this co-operation is the shared conviction that... only a flexible, cross-border approach will make it happen quickly.” ~ Ingrid Deltenre