In a new opinion piece, Republican Federal Communications Commissioner Nathan Simington has proposed a number of regulatory changes to strengthen local broadcasters, including modernizing ownership caps and regulating vMVPDs like YouTube TV as traditional pay TV operators like Comcast.
Local station groups and the NAB have long pushed for the change because it would allow them to directly negotiate retransmission fees with the vMVPDs just as they do with traditional cable and satellite operators. Currently media companies like Disney, which own broadcast networks like ABC, handle the negotiations with vMVPDs as part of larger packages of networks.
“Unlike satellite, cable, and broadcast TV, streaming isn’t regulated by the FCC and faces no such constraints,” Simington and his chief of staff Gavin Wax wrote in a piece posted by The Daily Caller. “They are classified as “online video distributors,” not “multi-channel video programming distributors,” and thus escape the FCC’s oversight. This loophole allows a handful of powerful players to grow larger and more monopolistic, often while avoiding even the most basic public interest obligations."
In the piece, Simington once again signaled his interest liberalizing ownership rules. “Traditional broadcasters are bound by outdated ownership limits such as the 39% national audience reach cap, that prevent mergers or consolidation within a given market, while their internet-based streaming competitors like Amazon Prime, Disney+, and Netflix operate unregulated and unfettered, and are increasingly dominating the landscape with 100% coverage,” he wrote.
To strengthen local broadcasters, Simington concluded that the FCC “must modernize its ownership rules to allow traditional broadcasters greater flexibility to consolidate and compete” and “the FCC must reexamine how it classifies and regulates streaming platforms.”
The full editorial can be found here.
