Pay-TV providers to FCC: ‘Step up to the plate’

The FCC framed the dispute as harmful to consumers on Tuesday night by tweeting sports updates for Cablevision subscribers who missed events due to the dispute. 

“Instead of using its authority to protect Cablevision’s customers from the [Fox] blackout, the FCC tweeted updates from the Phillies-Giants playoff game last night to fill in ‘the baseball void for those without Fox-Cablevision,'” said a statement from ATVA.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has also called the companies to encourage a swift resolution. But those actions aren’t enough, in ATVA’s view.

“And now this? Twitter updates of baseball games?” the group said.

ATVA wants reform to retransmission consent rules that govern negotiations between broadcasters and paid TV providers, so broadcasters do not have the power to pull their content. The broadcasters say that situations such as the Cablevision dispute are rare, so an overhaul is unnecessary.