Last week, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said the Commission would continue to take a hands-off approach when it comes to retransmission disputes.
Wheeler wrote on his blog that after asking for and reviewing suggestions on how to make sure companies behave during retransmission negotiations, he came to the conclusion blackouts were caused by a few bad players.
“Though commenters complained about a variety of negotiating practices, none showed that those practices are the causes of the blackouts that occur,” wrote Wheeler on his blog. “Further, a number of the practices complained of were said to have been engaged in by a single negotiating party or in a small number of negotiations and do not appear to be gaining currency in the marketplace.”
But with retransmission fees steadily becoming a prime source of revenue for broadcasters, the pressure to squeeze out as much profit as possible may force both sides to fight a little harder during negotiations.
“Over just the last 10 years, the total amount of retrans fees pay TV companies pay to broadcasters has increased nearly 40-fold, from $200 million to an estimated $7.7 billion in 2016, according to research firm SNL Kagan,” reports Variety. “By 2019, SNL Kagan expects that number to top $10 billion.”
But Wheeler says the commission won’t sit idly by if he thinks negotiations are getting out of hand.
“Now let me be clear; this does not mean the FCC will turn a blind eye to disputes,” said Wheeler. “Nor does it mean that Congress couldn’t expand the scope of the Commission’s authority in this space. What this decision does mean is that “totality of circumstances” is pretty broad and ought not to be constrained.”
And he calls on all sides to remember who they work for.
“What we need is not more rules, but for both sides in retransmission consent negotiations to take seriously their responsibility to consumers, who expect to watch their preferred broadcast programming without interruption and to receive the subscription TV service for which they pay,” said Wheeler.