FCC Considers Changing Rules for Retrans Disputes

BusinessWeek

U.S. regulators will consider changing rules that let broadcasters pull signals from cable companies during contract disputes, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said.

The rules “may have lost pace with changes in the marketplace,” Genachowski said at a Senate hearing today. “It’s something that we’ll be looking into.”

Genachowski said reasons for reviewing the rules include a dispute that left more than 3 million New York area viewers without Walt Disney Co.’s ABC channel after a contract expired March 7 with Cablevision Systems Corp. More…