Federal regulators will explore whether they can do more to protect consumers from losing their television signals because of disputes over the fees that subscription-video providers pay broadcasters for their programming.
Wednesday’s announcement by the Federal Communications Commission comes on the heels of a high-profile spat between Cablevision Systems Corp. and News Corp.’s Fox network. That impasse left 3 million Cablevision subscribers in the New York area without Fox programming for 15 days — including through two World Series games — after the broadcaster pulled its signal in October.
Cablevision had called on the FCC to prohibit Fox from withholding its signal and to require binding arbitration. But the agency remained on the sidelines during the dispute. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski argued that under existing law, the commission had very limited authority to get involved in what were essentially private business negotiations. Genachowski said Congress should consider changing that.
In the meantime, the agency will examine what role it can nevertheless play in allowing fees “to be set by market forces while protecting the interests of consumers,” William Lake, head of the FCC’s media bureau, said in a speech Wednesday.
Among other things, the agency will study what it can do to ensure that both sides negotiate in good faith, and it will consider rules that would require consumer notification when talks break down and a signal could get pulled.
The dispute between Cablevision and Fox was the latest in a series of high-stakes standoffs over programming fees over the past year. Broadcasters have been demanding more for their signals as advertising revenue has dropped off, and they warn that if they are not paid enough, they would no longer be able to invest in high-quality content, including sporting events and local news.
But cable companies and other pay-TV providers complain that existing government rules favor broadcasters in these so-called “retransmission consent” negotiations because they can pull their signals — which provides leverage, particularly right before a high-profile event.
“Broadcasters’ demands for dramatic fee increases and their recurring blackout threats are causing significant harm to the public,” Time Warner Cable Inc. said in a statement.
Pay-TV providers want the FCC to adopt new rules that would prohibit broadcasters from interrupting signals during negotiations or before popular events, and mandate binding arbitration in disputes. Given the FCC’s position that it has limited authority, however, Congress has been looking at the issue.
Broadcasters, meanwhile, insist that the existing rules are working just fine.
“Injecting Washington into private business negotiations . only serves to embolden pay-TV companies,” the National Association of Broadcasters said in a statement.
“A Complete Unknown,” “Wicked,” “Sing Sing,” “Baby Reindeer” Among Guild of Music Supervisors Award Winners
The Guild of Music Supervisors held its 15th annual awards ceremony on Sunday night (2/23) at the Wiltern Theatre in L.A., honoring the best achievements in music supervision and songwriting with feature category winners including “Wicked,” “A Complete Unknown,” “I Saw the TV Glow” and “Sing Sing.” Among the TV category winners were “Baby Reindeer,” “English Teacher” and “Agatha All Along.”
Stephen Schwartz was awarded the Icon Award to celebrate his contributions to the music and film industry. Schwartz performed his song “Beautiful City” on stage from his musical “Godspell.” Music producer and supervisor Bonnie Greenberg took to the stage to accept the Legacy Award for her outstanding career in music supervision. Music supervisor and executive at EA Games Steve Schnur won the most awards for the evening with two wins for his work on video games EA Sports FC 25 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
Keeping their promise of live performances from Best Song nominees, Oscar-nominees Abraham Alexander & Adrian Quesada performed their nominated song “Like a Bird” from “Sing Sing,” which took the prize for Best Song Written and/or Recorded for a Film. Danielle Ponder performed her nominated song “Egún” from Apple TV’s “Manhunt,” and the artist Role Model gave a rousing performance of their song “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out” as the Spotlight artist of the evening.
The complete winners list for the 15th Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards is as follows.
FILM
Best Music Supervision in Major Budget Films
Maggie Rodford - “Wicked”
Best Music Supervision in Mid-Level Budget Films
Steven Gizicki - “A... Read More