Broadcasters, Networks Duel Over VMPVD Proceeding

A collection of broadcast affiliate station groups pushing for the FCC to reclassify streaming services (sometimes called virtual MVPDs) as falling under the FCC retransmission consent regime said Thursday they're merely trying to update the rules (see 2308090065). The Coalition for Local News is “asking for the FCC to use its existing authority to align the rules with the modern-day market,” said a blog post on the coalition’s website. The post appears to be a response to posts from a group of networks and streaming services, including Fox, Paramount, ABC, NBC and YouTube, formed to oppose the reclassification of virtual MVPDs. "Don’t turn back the clock,” said a post from the Preserve Viewer Choice Coalition. “Cable and satellite regulations were enacted decades ago in a pre-internet era with much less competition and higher prices. The policy justifications underlying their adoption do not apply to the online video services of today and are a solution in search of a problem.” Reclassifying streamers as MVPDs and subjecting them to retransmission consent requirements is “hardly an unbearable regulatory burden,” said the Coalition for Local News post. “It would simply take a well-established framework and update it for the modern marketplace.” Policymakers “must stand up for viewers & say no to big station groups asking Congress for unwarranted leverage over streaming providers’ offerings,” the Preserve Viewer Choice Coalition tweeted on X, formerly Twitter, earlier this week.