Broadcasters Hit Back At Pay-TV Alliance
July 14, 2010
| 3:18 PM
The National Association of Broadcasters hit back Wednesday at a group of 31 pay-television providers, independent networks and consumer groups that created an alliance aimed at pushing the FCC and Congress to reform the process for acquiring broadcast programming.
The American Television Alliance says it plans to lobby Congress and the FCC to overhaul retransmission consent rules, the procedure by which broadcasters and pay-TV providers negotiate fees to deliver programming. The alliance argues that consumers suffer in the form of higher rates and possible blackouts when broadcasters demand higher fees and threaten to withhold their programming during these negotiations.
"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," NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton said in a statement. "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 TV shows."
He added that while cable providers complain about the fees they pay broadcasters for their content, the amount cable providers charge their customers has increased at a much higher rate.
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