Cantwell Asks FCC for Record Refresh on MVPDs

In 2014, former Chairman Tom Wheeler circulated a proposal (see 1410280053) to change the definition of a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) to be technology neutral. “I’m very concerned about the decline of local news,” Cantwell said at the hearing. “The FCC started a proceeding to examine this issue but has been stalled for nearly a decade,” she said: “You can’t have an FCC that’s stalled over the complexity -- we have to resolve this issue.” The three commissioner nominees said they support reopening the proceeding. In the nearly 10 years “since the FCC launched the proceeding, the video service landscape has changed dramatically,” the letter says: “However, today when viewers have more options for what content to watch (and which platform to watch it from), local broadcasts remain the recognized expert and dominant source for local news for many Americans.” As consumers recognize, “streaming platforms have drastically changed their ability to access local broadcast content,” said NAB President Curtis LeGeyt. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., also raised the issue during the hearing, citing a Wall Street Journal opinion piece Thursday by former Commissioner Robert McDowell. A loophole in FCC rules “allows networks to take control of local stations’ distribution rights, negotiate ‘on their behalf’ with streaming services, pocket fees for others’ content, and leave stations with much less money than if they had cut their own deals,” McDowell wrote: “Stations are given a ‘choice’ to accept the networks’ terms or risk losing network programming, which could put them out of business.”