The Federal Communications Commission won't write new rules to govern fee disputes that sometimes lead to program blackouts on pay-TV services, Chairman Tom Wheeler said Thursday.
"What we need is not more rules, but for both sides in retransmission consent negotiations to take seriously their responsibility to consumers," Wheeler said in an emailed statement.
Disputes between pay-TV providers and broadcasters over fees have intensified in recent years. Program suppliers seek higher charges to offset rising production costs and sluggish ad revenue. TV distributors such as Dish Network Corp. have been battling rising content costs that drive customer bills higher and push subscribers to cheaper alternatives such as streaming videos from Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.
SundayMonday Business on 07/18/2016