Another Victory for TV Viewers
STAVRA Will Help Bring Video Rules into 21st Century
Washington, D.C. September 15, 2014– Today marks a significant milestone in the fight to reform our broken retransmission consent system. Thanks to the bipartisan leadership of Chairman Rockefeller and Ranking Member Thune, the Satellite Television Access and Viewer Rights Act (STAVRA) will provide some meaningful and immediate reforms that will help consumers.
STAVRA will not only extend satellite companies’ ability to import distant signal for five more years, it will help curb skyrocketing blackouts and retrans fees by prohibiting joint retransmission consent negotiations, asking the FCC to reexamine its good faith negotiation rules and instructing the FCC to report retrans data as part of cable pricing reports.
At every step of the way, the National Association of Broadcasters has tried to prevent reform. First, the NAB claimed it was in favor of sunsetting STELA. Then it claimed it supported a “clean” bill. Now, against the NAB’s wishes, there is bipartisan support in both houses for legislation that includes some reforms to our outdated retrans regime.
We look forward to working with the Senate Commerce Committee and its members to pass STAVRA and reform retransmission consent.