Proposals Seek to End TV and Online Blackouts that Result from Retransmission Disputes
TV and online blackouts like the one that affected thousands of Time Warner Cable subscribers when the cable company and CBS fought over retransmission fees could become a thing of the past, 如果华盛顿有办法的话.
Three bills that seek to update existing television broadcasting laws were introduced in the House late last week, and the Energy and Commerce Committee quickly approved one of the proposals. The approved bill was produced by the chairman of the subcommittee that oversees broadcasting and it contains a provision to prevent cable providers from blocking online video transmissions of non-affiliated producers.
反屏蔽条款最初是“Video CHOICE (Consumers Have Options In Choosing Entertainment) Act,” a bill that was introduced by House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.)和Rep. 佐伊·洛夫格伦(加利福尼亚州民主党.)，他是司法委员会委员.
然而, 而洛夫格伦是该提案的发起人之一, Eshoo一直是《百家乐app下载》背后的催化剂, 它已被作为修正案添加到更大的法案中美国联邦通信委员会程序改革委员会t” (H.R. 3675)—which was introduced by Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.). The FCC reform bill is among the latest legislative effort in an initiative by House Republicans to update the Communications Act of 1934 (P.L. 73-416).
12月. 3, Walden and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) 宣布 that they were undertaking a “multi-year effort to examine our nation’s communications laws and update them for the Internet era.” Walden’s bill directs the FCC to change some of its procedures on how it produces rules, 主持会议并撰写报告.
Eshoo’s bill seeks to prevent television broadcast blackouts—including online blackouts—that are the result of retransmission disputes “between television broadcast stations and multichannel video programming distributors.” It directs the FCC to produce a rule saying “the blocking of online content owned by or affiliated with a television broadcast station (or a person who owns or controls, 拥有或控制, or is under common ownership or control with such station) constitutes a failure to negotiate in good faith under section 325 of the Communications Act.”
The bill seeks to amend the Communications Act by adding a provision to that legislation enabling the FCC to require that content be carried by the multichannel video programming distributor “pending the conclusion of a new agreement” by the distributor and the broadcast station.
“My bill would put an end to broadcast television blackouts and ensure consumers aren’t held hostage by a dispute they have no control over,Eshoo在一份声明中说.
除了, “internet users and television customers should not be held hostage when business negotiation disputes arise between cable and content providers,洛夫格伦说. “It’s unfair to subject consumers to service blackouts or blocked online content,” she said. “This bill offers the basic consumer protections and choices they should receive in television and online services,她补充道。.
两党合作得到了厄普顿主席的赞扬, who said the agreement by Walden and Eshoo “is the culmination of months of work by members and staff to find common ground for an approach that will make the FCC a stronger, 更负责任的机构.”
虽然全体委员会都通过了瓦尔登的法案，但众议院代表. 史蒂夫·斯卡利斯(共和党-路易斯安那州.)和科里·加德纳(科罗拉多州共和党人).) introduced the “Next Generation Television Marketplace Act” (H.R. 3720), a video reform bill that would repeal “outdated laws” including compulsory copyright licenses, eliminate various mandates on private sector companies and consumers, 并取消了某些FCC广播和媒体所有权规则, 议员们在一份声明中说.
“而76年和88年的强制许可, 1992年的有线电视法案可能在几年前就有意义了, competition from new players in the video marketplace have rendered these laws obsolete,斯卡利斯说. 根据该法案的摘要，它将:
- Repeal those provisions of the Communications Act that mandate the carriage and purchase of certain broadcast signals by cable operators, 卫星供应商和他们的客户.
- 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, 美食频道和AMC.
- 废除对地方媒体经营者的所有权限制, allowing businesses to evolve and adapt to today’s dynamic communications market.
“Consumers increasingly demand a customized viewing experience, in a world in which laws and regulations don’t restrict their ability to watch what they want, 他们想要的地方, 而且价格最符合他们的预算,斯卡利斯说. “这些常识, private sector decisions should be left to the creators of content and those that distribute it, 而不是国会或联邦通信委员会一时的心血来潮.”
Scalise’s and Gardner’s bill was referred to the House Committees on Energy and Commerce and the Judiciary.
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