TPA Applauds the Reintroduction of the Next Generation Television Marketplace Act

The Murray-Ryan Budget Deal, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and the Farm Bill have been dominating the conversations in Congress over the last week or so and it seems as if there is nothing else to talk about in Washington. Nothing could be further from the truth and the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) was pleased to see some movement on an issue that could benefit taxpayers and consumers. Retransmission consent and the Cable Act of 1992 may not sound like a very important issue, but in reality it is an issue that affects millions of individuals.  The perfect example to illustrate this is when major sports events like professional football or professional baseball games are blacked out because of disputes between content providers (CBS, ABC, et.) and video distributors (cable systems, satellite providers). In fact, in 2012 the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) retransmission consent rules almost stopped some Bostonians from watching the Super Bowl.

TPA has been looking at retransmission consent and the need to update the Cable Act of 1992 which contains an inherit advantage for broadcasters: leverage in negotiations with monopoly cable providers, granting broadcasters the right to choose between guaranteed carriage or insisting that multichannel video programming distributors (cable and satellite providers) obtain and pay for a station’s consent to retransmit the station to local subscribers. That is why TPA was pleased to see that late last week, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), with Rep. Corey Gardner (R-Colo.), reintroduced the Next Generation Television Marketplace Act. Scalise and former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C) originally introduced the bill in the 112^th Congress in order to get government out of the video marketplace, and to allow negotiations to take place in a true free market.

Rep. Scalise has been looking for action in Congress to update the rules in the video marketplace and he talked about what this legislation could do to achieve that end:

“Repeal those provisions of the Communications Act that mandate the carriage and purchase of certain broadcast signals by cable operators, satellite providers, and their customers. Repeal the Communications Act’s ‘retransmission consent’ provisions and the Copyright Act’s ‘compulsory license’ provisions, thereby allowing negotiations for the carriage of broadcast stations to take place in the same deregulated environment as negotiations for carriage of non-broadcast channels such as Discovery, Food Network, and AMC. Repeal ownership limitations imposed on local media operators, allowing businesses to evolve and adapt to today’s dynamic communications market.”

As technology has become more and more advanced for the last few decades, there remains little doubt that an overhaul is needed for the current rules in place in the Communications Act. The government shouldn’t be in the business of picking and choosing winners when it comes to any industry, and this includes the video marketplace. Rep. Scalise touched on this point as well:

“Over the last several decades, communications and entertainment technology has become more advanced, while the laws governing the industry have remained relatively unchanged. The government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers, and the Next Generation Television Marketplace Act ensures that by removing the heavy hand of government, the market is free to operate in a way that continues to benefit consumers and encourage innovation.”

TPA was part of a coalition effort this past August and sent a letter to Congress urging them to reform outdated rules that have kept the video marketplace from being a truly free-market for all involved. The reintroduction of the Next Generation Television Marketplace Act is an encouraging step towards making those reforms a reality.  The hope of meaningful action on this legislation in the new year is something that many taxpayers and consumers can be thankful for as the bill moves forward.