FCC OKs $512,000 Per Station Retrans Penalty

The full FCC voted to impose a per station penalty of $512,228 against 14 broadcasters and a reduced $30,000 penalty against another over violations of good faith negotiation rules in retransmission consent negotiations with AT&T and subsidiary DirecTV, said a heavily redacted forfeiture order released Wednesday afternoon. The stations involved are affiliated with Sinclair through service agreements.

“While together these agreements give Sinclair a relationship with, and stake in the success of, each of the Defendant Stations, Sinclair itself is not a party to this proceeding,” said the order. Sinclair didn’t comment right away. The violations involve a total of 18 stations and concern “unreasonably delaying” retrans negotiations and failing to respond to proposals from the MVPDs. All the stations were represented by Duane Lammers of Max Retrans, and the forfeiture stems from a 2020 notice of apparent liability.

The broadcasters include several companies affiliated with Deerfield Media, MPS Media, GoCom Media and KMTR Television. The several TV stations we called said their general managers and other personnel weren't available to answer questions immediately. AT&T also didn't comment.