ACA Now Reversing Itself on Exclusivity Arrangements, NAB Says
If the American Cable Association now says it isn't looking to stop local stations from signing exclusivity deals with networks and syndicators, the FCC should no longer listen to its request to put limits on broadcasters' ability to put together…
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such deals, NAB said in a filing to be posted in docket 10-71. ACA has in the past been staunchly against any network interference with out-of-market retransmission consent between local stations and multichannel video programming distributors, NAB said. But pointing to a recent ACA statement that if the FCC repeals the syndicated exclusivity and network nonduplication rules, as Chairman Tom Wheeler has advocated (see 1508120051), it should protect significantly viewed stations but meanwhile doesn't need to limit other exclusivity arrangements, NAB said the ACA "now supports broadcasters negotiating for exclusivity with networks" except for the one limited circumstance regarding significantly viewed stations. NAB said it was "relieved that ACA has adopted a less extreme position in its sustained efforts to limit payments to the content owners that drive consumers to its pay service." The broadcaster group also repeated its call to keep the existing exclusivity rules as a means for preventing stations from expanding their "zone of exclusivity" through affiliation agreements. "Rather than throw the entire well-established regime of local signals/local carriage into flux and hope for the best, there is no better option than to keep these effective rules in place," NAB said. ACA said its stance and comments have been consistent.