DeMint, Scalise Propose Sweeping Away Retransmission Regime, Ownership Regulations

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Rep Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Sen Jim DeMint (R-SC) have introduced the Next Generation Television Marketplace Act in both the House and Senate. The sweeping and unlikely-to-pass legislation would throw out the retransmission regime and local ownership rules. That deregulatory chain saw is aimed at clearing out "decades-old" regulations they argue represent the government inappropriately picking winners and losers.

Specifically the bill would:

  • Repeal those provisions of the Communications Act that mandate the carriage and purchase of certain broadcast signals by cable operators, satellite providers, and their customers.
  • Repeal the Communications Act's "retransmission consent" provisions and the Copyright Act's "compulsory license" provisions, thereby allowing negotiations for the carriage of broadcast stations to take place in the same deregulated environment as negotiations for carriage of non-broadcast channels such as Discovery, Food Network, and AMC.
  • Repeal ownership limitations imposed on local media operators, allowing businesses to evolve and adapt to today's dynamic communications market.

DeMint, Scalise Propose Sweeping Away Retransmission Regime, Ownership Regulations