Media Bureau Sides With Dish in Carriage Dispute Over Mail
Dish Network acted correctly in rejecting a broadcaster’s must-carry notice because it was delivered using the wrong sort of mail service, said an FCC Media Bureau order Tuesday (see 1711300033). Minority Television Project (MTP), licensee of noncommercial KMTP-TV San Francisco,…
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sent the carriage election notice via the U.S. Postal Service’s priority express mail service, while FCC rules specifically require certified mail, the order said. “Because the rule explicitly requires election notices to be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, it is under no obligation to carry the station,” Dish argued. Though MTP argued that priority express mail didn’t exist when the rule was created, and that Dish’s response favored “form over substance,” the bureau upheld Dish’s stance. “Rejection was permissible under our rules because KMTP did not adhere to the commission’s clear and express procedural requirements,” the bureau said.