MVPDs, Broadcasters Remain at Odds Over Carriage Election Changes
Broadcast and MVPD interests agree on streamlining the triennial carriage election letter process, but there's no agreement on how, judging by replies in docket 17-317. That echoed what the FCC already saw in its NPRM proposing changes to its Part 76 rules to allow more use of electronic delivery of MVPD communications (see 1802160005). Any such simplification of the must-carry and retransmission consent election notification process is good, and the FCC needs to be sure to avoid simply shifting regulatory burdens to MVPDs, NCTA commented, posted Tuesday. It said broadcasters' putting their elections in their online public files would require MVPDs to search legions of such files for new election requests, and ending the broadcaster obligation to send election notifications swaps one regulation for "an even more burdensome" one. NTCA had similar objections.
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AT&T said if the FCC updates its carriage election rules, the Dish Network proposal of use of an FCC-hostel web portal for such carriage elections makes the most sense. AT&T has concerns about requiring MVPDs to accept emailed carriage elections due to issues of timeliness and which request would control if a broadcaster sends multiple ones. It objected to noncommercial educational broadcasters no longer filing carriage notices once every three years with direct broadcast satellite providers. The American Cable Association backed NCTA and Verizon proposals to let broadcasters deliver carriage election notices to a single MVPD email address, although it said stations should be required to include on those carriage election notices an FCC-hosted email address that would automatically generate a return receipt to both parties. ACA said small cable operators should be allowed to post their email address in the agency's Cable Operators and Licensing System database instead of having to establish online public folders just to post the designated email addresses for receiving carriage notices. And it criticized the idea of letting stations post their notices in their online public files in lieu of sending them to MVPDs.
Verizon -- also against allowing broadcasters to email their carriage election notices to MVPDs -- said the FCC should clarify that 30-day notification rules apply during program carriage negotiations. Charter Communications similarly called for such clarification (see 1802160017). Ion said any change so retrans is the default for cable carriage would put "unreasonable burdens" on broadcasters like Ion that rely on mandatory carriage without changes in the notification process. It backed the requirement stations put their election notices in their online public inspection files since that would "all but eliminate the massive costs" that come with the election process.