Wisconsin Broadcasters Lobby Pai To Keep Exclusivity Rules

Wisconsin broadcasters lobbied FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai to keep exclusivity rules and backed retransmission-consent fees, a filing posted Friday to docket 15-216 said. Other broadcasters also have opposed an FCC proposal to change the rules (see 1602110062). During a Tuesday meeting with Wisconsin radio and TV officials and Wisconsin Broadcasters Association CEO Michelle Vetterkind, they told Pai and an aide that the exclusivity rules promote "localism by ensuring that local stations can negotiate for meaningful exclusivity rights for programming within their market," a filing by a WBA lawyer said. Retrans fees are "an important source of revenue for serving their local audiences," and "efforts to restrict the ability of broadcasters to negotiate market rate retransmission agreements is harmful to that local public service," the broadcasters said. Separately, NAB said that Thursday "a delegation of local broadcasters met with FCC Commissioners and their staffers to discuss policy issues and the impact of Commission regulations on the everyday operation of their stations." NAB held a lobbying meeting in Washington (see 1602230070), and industry officials were telling the commission of concerns on the incentive auction, too (see 1602250038).