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Retransmission Consent / Must-Carry Election Deadline October 1, 2011
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All commercial television
stations and qualified low power television stations must send their
must-carry/retransmission consent election notices to both cable systems and direct
broadcast satellite systems no later than October 1, 2011. This
election will govern that station’s status for the period beginning
January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2014. As explained
below, all noncommercial television stations should also send letters to both
cable systems and to satellite systems confirming their must-carry status by
October 1, 2011. Default Election
Status Differs For Cable Systems and Satellite Systems: It is important
to remember that the default status for a station failing to make an
affirmative election differs for cable and satellite systems. If a
television station fails to make any election by October 1, 2011, it
will be deemed to have elected must-carry status by default for cable
systems – but it will be deemed to have elected retransmission consent
by default for satellite systems. Election Procedures: The FCC has
specific requirements for must-carry/retransmission consent elections: ·
The election must be made in writing for the
period beginning January 1, 2012, and running through December 31,
2014. ·
The election must be sent not later than
October 1, 2011 by certified mail, return receipt requested. ·
An election sent to a satellite system must
contain the station’s call sign, the name of a station contact person, the
station’s address for purposes of receiving official correspondence, the
station’s community of license, and the station’s DMA. Although not
specifically required, the same information should be included in election
letters sent to cable systems. ·
A must-carry election sent to a cable system
is also required to contain the station’s election of channel position.
Under the Commission’s rules, a station is generally entitled to elect
carriage on the channel number on which the station broadcasts over-the-air;
on the channel on which it was carried on the cable system on July 19,
1985; on the channel it was carried on the cable system on January 1,
1992; or on any other channel agreed upon by the station and the cable
system. ·
A copy of each election notice must be
placed in the station’s public file and remain there throughout the
three-year election period. Any must-carry election
notices should also designate the channel of the station’s primary
programming stream (e.g., Channel X.1). Geographic Area In
Which Stations Are Entitled To Carriage:
A commercial television station may
demand must-carry status on all cable systems within its Nielsen-defined
television market. Noncommercial stations may exercise their must-carry
rights on cable systems whose principal headend is
located within 50 miles of the reference point for the community to
which the station is licensed or on any cable system of which the principal headend is located within the station’s digital noise
limited signal contour. Noncommercial
Stations Should Affirmatively Elect Must-Carry Status:
Noncommercial stations are not eligible to elect retransmission consent
status. Nonetheless, we strongly recommend that noncommercial stations
affirmatively notify cable systems of their intent to establish
must-carry status with respect to all cable systems with a principal headend located within 50 miles of the station’s
community of license or within the station’s digital noise limited
service contour, and remind noncommercial stations that they must send
notices to affirmatively elect mandatory carriage status for satellite
carriers. The failure to send election letters to satellite systems
will generally preclude carriage of the station by the satellite system
during the entire three-year election period. If you would like
assistance or have questions about the must-carry/retransmission consent
election process, please contact any attorney in our firm. August 19, 2011 |
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This memorandum is intended only as a general discussion of these issues and should not be regarded as legal advice. We would be pleased to provide additional details or advice about specific situations if desired. Copyright © 2011, Lerman Senter PLLC 2000 K Street NW,
Suite 600 | Washington, DC 20006-1809 To Unsubscribe: Unsubscribe | To Update Client Info: Update Client Info |
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