The American Cable Association is hoping to persuade the FCC to allow cable systems to carry TV stations in adjacent, in-state markets—a move that would undermine the leverage of local stations in retransmission consent negotiations.

“The current retransmission consent regulations and the anti-competitive practices they allow, have given broadcasters far too much control over the information available to cable customers,” said ACA President and Chief Executive Officer Matthew M. Polka. 

“Cable customers are unable to watch important local weather or coverage of their state capital, or even political advertising because their community falls outside the DMA. The DMAs were not designed to be literal borders separating communities from one another or important information, but under these regulations, that is exactly what has happened,” Polka continued.

The FCC opened the door for consideration of importing signals from adjacent markets in its localism rulemaking last December.

The agency said that it intended to launch a separate proceeding to “ensure that all cable and satellite subscribers have access to television broadcast stations licensed to communities within the viewers’ home state.”

"We intend to increase access to community-responsive programming...by examining our rules to remedy the infrequent but significant situations in which cable and satellite subscribers often do not receive the local news and information provided by an in-state television station, because our rules effectively require carriage of an out-of-state station," the FCC said.

In reply comments on the rulemaking, the ACA said that to effectively address this issue, the commission “must investigate how current retransmission consent practices restrict cable customers’ access to important regional and local programming.

"Presently, the ‘Big Four’ broadcast networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox) and their affiliates prevent many cable customers from receiving in-state broadcast signals by contractually prohibiting their affiliates from granting retransmission consent to cable systems in adjacent DMAs," the ACA said.

"The networks and their affiliates do so even when this practice results in cable customers having limited or no access to in-state broadcast signals. In some circumstances, especially in rural markets, this practice prevents cable customers from receiving in-state news, sports, weather, public affairs programming, and even political advertising for state elections."