Studios to FCC: Hands Off Syndex/Nondupe...For Now

The Motion Picture Association of America has asked the Federal Communications Commission not eliminate the syndicated exclusivity and network nonduplication rules until and unless Congress eliminates the compulsory licenses that allow cable operators to carry distant and local TV station content without negotiating separately with content providers--like those studios. "The FCC should not go forward with its proposal to eliminate the rules," MPAA said.

According to a letter to the chairman and commissioners dated Sept. 10, MPAA said that rather than taking the government's finger off the scale of negotiations, as FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler suggested eliminating the rules would do, it would instead "remove an essential counterbalance to the government-created compulsory copyright licenses, jeopardizing the ability of program suppliers to provide viewers with robust and diverse programming." MPAA also said that excising the rules would counter Congress' assessment in the STELAR satellite bill that the FCC needed to gather additional info before taking action on the exclusivity rules.