Widespread Support for Video Marketplace Reform

American Television Alliance

“The Next Generation Television Marketplace Act will jumpstart and elevate a long-overdue conversation about modernizing the rules of the road for how Americans access and pay for video content. The legislation is forward-thinking, free-market oriented and pro-consumer.” – Trent Duffy, American Television Alliance

Conservative and Free Market Groups

“Video content is no longer viewed solely through broadcast antenna signals or cable television, yet antiquated laws continue to regulate how one sector of the television industry operates… The Next Generation Television Marketplace Act modernizes federal laws to accommodate and invigorate today’s video marketplace.” – Thomas A. Schatz, President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste

The Next Generation Television Marketplace Act simply removes these barriers to market negotiations by repealing carriage mandates, retransmission consent and compulsory license provisions, and restrictive ownership caps… It places television service negotiations into a free market context.” – Americans for Tax Reform

“Like many areas of our economy, the video marketplace is weighed down by burdensome and outdated regulations. The Next Generation Television Marketplace Act aims to improve that by revising carriage and licensing rules, as well as media ownership restrictions that distort outcomes and harm consumers. The result would be a freer market that better serves the needs of both viewers and market negotiators, helping to bring the world of video programming into the 21st century.” – Andrew Moylan, Director of the Interstate Commerce Initiative at the National Taxpayers Union

“The Taxpayers Protection Alliance applauds Rep. Steve Scalise’s continuing efforts to reform the video marketplace through commonsense solutions including retransmission consent reform.  The current rules that govern retransmission consent date back to 1992, a different time when there was little competition in the cable marketplace. Fast-forward to today and the market has changed in such a way that the law is far behind the technology to the point that it is harming consumers.” – David Williams, President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance

“Current laws, enacted all the way back in 1992, allow the federal government to pick winners and losers by tipping the scales in negotiations that the government has no business distorting… We at CFIF therefore applaud Rep. Scalise’s leadership, and urge Congress to pass the Next Generation Television Marketplace Act at long last.” – Timothy Lee, Vice President of Legal and Public Affairs, Center for Individual Freedom 

“Among other things, the NextGen TV Act would repeal the retransmission consent and compulsory cable licensing regulatory regime and allow negotiations for carriage of TV broadcast stations to take place in a truly free market context.” Randolph J. May, President, Free State Foundation

Industry Support

“ACA applauds Rep. Scalise for introducing legislation designed to overhaul archaic media laws and policies. The Scalise bill, to its credit, will prompt lawmakers and stakeholders to begin important conversations that should result in legislation next year that will truly serve the public interest.– Matt Polka, President and CEO, American Cable Alliance

 “With the introduction of the ‘Next Generation Television Marketplace Act’ of 2018, Whip Scalise reinvigorated the conversation about video marketplace regulations. The video landscape is constantly shifting and consumers need – demand – modern rules that govern how we access and pay for video content. This is an important, contemporary conversation, and hopefully the introduction of this legislation will spur further discussion on how best to apply modern, practical rules to this dynamic and evolving industry.”– USTelecom

 “Charter applauds Majority Whip Steve Scalise for reintroducing the Next Generation Television Marketplace Act. Congressman Scalise is rightly reexamining a broken system that has resulted in retransmission consent fees rising exponentially over the last decade. We look forward to working with him and his colleagues in Congress to reform the outdated rules and better protect consumers.”– Charter Communications

 “The video marketplace has outgrown the 1992 Cable Act. Consumers watch, create and interact with video whenever and wherever they want it. Majority Whip Scalise’s bill recognizes this and appropriately sunsets a decades-old video law that makes no sense today. We look forward to working with the Majority Whip and others to ensure continued innovation and choice for consumers.”– Tim McKone, AT&T Executive Vice President of Federal Relations

 “DISH commends Rep. Scalise for his continued leadership on behalf of consumers. The broken retransmission consent regime is in dire need of comprehensive reform, and customers have been left paying the price through broadcaster blackouts and skyrocketing retransmission consent rates.”– Jeff Blum, Vice President of Public Policy and Government Affairs

“The regulations used to govern the video marketplace are out of date and no longer reflect the options and ways consumers obtain and view their content. Congress should consider the changing technology enabled by a growing Internet ecosystem as they create a new video marketplace framework. We thank Representative Scalise for introducing the, “Next Generation Television Marketplace Act.” This legislation will begin the conversation to modernize our nation’s video policies as the marketplace responds to rapidly changing consumer demands.” Robert Fisher, Senior Vice President, Federal Government Relations, Verizon

“ITTA commends Congressman Steve Scalise (R-LA) for introducing the “Next Generation Television Marketplace Act.” Introduction of Rep. Scalise’s bill is an important first step in the long overdue process of updating the outdated regulatory framework that governs today’s video marketplace.”Genny Morelli, President, ITTA

“NTCA appreciates Congressman Scalise’s willingness to take on the difficult issue of updating video policy by introducing this legislation. As consumer consumption of video continues to evolve, it is essential to examine video marketplace failures and consider updates to existing laws and regulations, especially in rural areas where many residents can’t receive broadcast signals. We look forward to engaging in this important discussion with Congress, and ultimately to the passage of legislation that will address the critical shortcomings in the existing rules governing this marketplace.”– Shirley Bloomfield, CEO, NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association

“The video market and consumer preferences are transitioning rapidly. We applaud Whip Scalise for introducing legislation that takes a deregulatory approach to the video marketplace and eliminates outdated rules that hurt competition.” David Bartlett, Vice President of Federal Government Affairs, CenturyLink

“This Bill gets it exactly right.  His [Scalise] Bill would repeal a steaming pile of outdated, conflicting and unnecessary government interventions into the market for distributing television programming. Of all the critical functions for which we need the Federal Government, managing and pricing the distribution of TV programs is not one of them!  The Scalise Bill would enable perfectly capable market forces to assure that consumers have access to the widest possible array of television programming from the widest possible array of distribution platforms.  And it would be fair to all industry segments.– Preston Padden, Former President of Network Distribution for Fox, former President of the ABC Television Network, former Executive VP of The Walt Disney Company