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DirecTV, Dish Network, American Cable Association and others continued...

DirecTV, Dish Network, American Cable Association and others continued to urge the FCC to take action on the retransmission consent regime. The commission can prohibit separately owned TV stations from coordinating their retransmission consent negotiations, the multichannel video programming distributors, as well as Charter and Public Knowledge, said in an ex parte filing in dockets 10-71 and 09-182 (http://bit.ly/IZ6ZF7). The FCC can protect consumers caught in the middle of retransmission consent disputes “by establishing dispute-resolution mechanisms and requiring interim carriage in the event of negotiating impasses,” the filing said. The commission can take such actions in the context of either its 2010 rulemaking considering changes to its retrans consent regime or its pending 2010 quadrennial media ownership review, “or address them in both proceedings,” it said. “But it cannot simply permit the status quo to continue consistent with its statutory obligations to protect consumers and competition.” The filing recounted a meeting with Adonis Hoffman, chief of staff for Commissioner Mignon Clyburn.