FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s comments made at the CES...

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s comments made at the CES on retransmission consent intervention were “overlooked” and are a “positive” for broadcasters, a Guggenheim Partners analyst said. Wheeler’s comments on retrans “certainly indicated he was unlikely to support FCC intervention in signal blackouts,” analyst Paul Gallant said in a research note. “This is what broadcasters have been hoping for.” If the commission does stand down on retrans, “then the ball is solely in Congress’ court,” he said. “But, given that Republicans control the House and broadcasters tend to have rising influence in an election year, we continue to believe the odds are against Congress passing retrans legislation in 2014.”