Posted on CommLawBlog May 14, 2013 by Kevin Goldberg
Proposed law looks to address multiple aspects of TV in the MVPD era, including bundling, broadcast abandonment and blackouts.
True to his reputation as a maverick, Arizona Senator John McCain has authored a bill seemingly designed to please nobody, while arguably disserving just about everybody. Dubbed the "Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013", it consists of clumsily crafted legislative language that mashes together in one bill three disparate and contentious aspects of the current video delivery system. In only one of those three areas does McCain's proposal come to remotely practical terms with the problem it seeks to address.
McCain's bill aims to: (1) promote "a la carte" program availability for MVPD subscribers; (2) discourage broadcasters from removing their programming from over-the-air availability (in response to the success that Aereo has recently enjoyed); and (3) eliminate broadcast blackouts of sports coverage in certain situations.
Continued:
Poster's note: MVPD = Multichannel video programming distributor. Includes CATV, DBS, FiOS, U-verse, and TVRO program resellers. (Wikipedia)
Neal McLain