Public Knowledge took to The Hill op-ed pages...

Public Knowledge took to The Hill op-ed pages to argue that Congress should broadly update video marketplace rules. “The existing rules are slanted too far in favor of broadcasters,” Public Knowledge Staff Attorney John Bergmayer said (http://bit.ly/1eYgNIe). “Congress should fix this, not to benefit any one industry, but to help viewers.” He called retransmission consent rules “one piece of the puzzle” but also cited several lawmakers who have focused on different aspects of the video marketplace in need of change. He backs the elimination of “basic tier buy-through,” he said: “Under this policy, which is rooted in both statute and FCC regulation, all pay-TV customers are required to buy cable packages that include a complete broadcast lineup.” There are many “negative effects,” such as a tilting of negotiation power in favor of broadcasters and against cable companies, Bergmayer said. “It’s curious that Public Knowledge, a purported public interest group, supports eliminating the tier of channels that provides by far the most popular content and lifeline service at the lowest possible price,” NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton told us. “That may be pro-Big Cable, but it’s hardly pro-consumer."