US: FCC defends limits on TV station coordination

The Federal Communications Commission, while it fights in a separate case with the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit to have TV contracts disclosed as part of two major merger reviews, is also defending its regulation of TV stations in a lawsuit filed by Sinclair.

The FCC issued a filing with the DC Circuit Monday defending its decision to limit coordinated retransmission negotiations by TV stations as Sinclair Broadcast Group challenges that restraint.

In its filing, the communications watchdog argued that it not only has the power to limit such collaboration but that its limitations were reasonable because such coordinated negotiations lead to price increases and a reduction in competition. The FCC added that the anticompetitive effect of such collusion is “particularly pernicious when two or more of the four most popular broadcast stations in a market team up to negotiate retransmission consent.”

Sinclair argues that the FCC does not have the authority to impose such limitations.

Full content: Broadcasting Cable

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