Dish Supports Retrans Quiet Period

Dish Network, which is in the midst of a retransmission-consent dispute that dropped four TV stations off its lineup, Tuesday asked the Federal Communications Commission to impose a so-called "quiet period" that would prevent broadcasters from pulling their signals during the transition to all-digital television broadcasting next February. In a letter to FCC chairman Kevin Martin, Dish Network said it supports the request for a "quiet period," which was first sought by small and mid-sized cable operators. Dish Network asked that the "quiet period" maintain existing retransmission-consent deals until May 31 next year. Dish also said that once that period is over, the FCC should proceed to reforming the "broken" retransmission-consent process. Dish wants the FCC to: 1) unbundle programming; 2) consider a standstill provision that would prevent stations from withdrawing their signals while the FCC was considering complaints that broadcasters had not bargained in good faith; 3) consider allowing smaller pay TV providers to "opt in" to the rate charged to larger operators, which generally have to pay less for the programming, Dish said; and 4) require broadcasters to provide "clear evidence and documentation that retransmission-consent fees are used to increase the amount of locally based content available to communities."