On March 5, 2020, NTCA filed comments with the FCC on March 5, 2020, in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by the FCC that would implement the Television Viewer Protection Act of 2019 by allowing small MVPD providers to “negotiate collectively as a buying group for retransmission consent.” NTCA’s comments supported the FCC’s proposal as a first step toward addressing ongoing problems with retransmission negotiations, but urged the FCC not to stop here in addressing outdated retransmission consent rules that have resulted in a heavily unbalanced system that harms small MVPDs and rural consumers that do not have access to an over the air broadcast signal.
Implementation of Section 1003 of the Television Viewer Protection Act of 2019, MB Docket No. 20-31