Dish Network Files FCC Complaint Against Media General Over Retrans Consent Impasse
Dish Network alleged in a complaint to the FCC that Media General isn’t negotiating in good faith to renew a retransmission consent agreement for the DBS company to transmit programs from the broadcaster’s stations in Augusta, Ga., Columbus, Ohio, Jackson, Miss., Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and other markets. Dish said it “repeatedly has offered to enter into a temporary extension of the entire expiring agreement in order to prevent disruption to viewers, but Media General refused all such offers” (http://bit.ly/1ex0mV3). Broadcasts from stations in 17 markets haven’t been available to Dish subscribers there since Oct. 1 (CD Oct 3 p13).
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The broadcaster’s conduct violates the FCC’s rules requiring good-faith negotiation for retransmission consent rights, because “Media General failed to respond for 11 days to Dish’s last pre-blackout offer,” the complaint said. “Although Media General finally countered after 11 days, Dish has now been waiting seven days for a response to Dish’s subsequent counter offer.” Dish also alleged that Media General seeks to require the DBS company to reopen an existing agreement with Young Broadcasting “as a condition of Media General entering into a new agreement with Dish.” The proposed deal between Media General and Young remains pending (CD June 7 p20).
Dish urged the FCC to immediately require Media General to submit to mediation with Dish to facilitate a good-faith retransmission consent negotiation and to “award such other relief that the commission deems just and appropriate,” it said. Media General is reviewing the complaint and plans to respond, a spokeswoman said.
Filing a complaint gives the FCC an invitation to step in, but Dish is asking for forced mediation, said a broadcast attorney who represents other clients in retransmission disputes. “The FCC in the past has said that they don’t have any power to cause those sorts of things to happen.” It sounds like Dish isn’t happy with the deal it’s being offered and Dish would like the FCC to step in, he said. “The fact that they're not happy with the deal doesn’t enter into whether there’s good faith or not."
NAB pointed out that “no broadcaster has ever been found to have acted in bad faith in a retransmission consent negotiation, yet Dish has been found previously to have abused the process,” a spokesman said. “Dish has been involved in roughly 50 percent of all retransmission consent impasses in the last two years.”
The American Television Alliance urged the commission to step in immediately. “It’s outrageous that Media General won’t even come to the negotiating table while consumers are missing their favorite shows and games,” said ATVA, with members including Dish, in a news release (http://bit.ly/16vweqk). Media General’s actions violate FCC rules requiring good-faith negotiation and betray the public trust, ATVA said. The FCC had no comment.
The bottom line is that regardless of what the actual facts are, or what the FCC is being asked to find, “it doesn’t change the fundamental fact that the FCC has never done anything other than encourage the parties to negotiate in good faith,” said the broadcast attorney.