Many rural Americans cannot receive broadcast signals over the air and do not wish to subscribe to costly satellite service. This makes receiving video service from a small rural video provider a great option. Unfortunately, small rural video providers have faced barriers to access to desirable content at reasonable prices and under reasonable terms.
Over the past decade, dozens of WTA members have been forced to exit the video marketplace due to unrestrained programming costs that make offering video a losing proposition for them. WTA advocates for new rules that will make offering video in rural America a more financially tenable position. It also supports reforms that will bring more fairness and transparency to retransmission consent negotiations such as prohibiting the tying and tiering of content and the creation of à la carte options.
- Reply Comments Opposing Relaxation of Top Four Prohibition – filed May 29, 2019
- Reply Comments in FCC Video Accessibility Proceeding – filed November 13, 2017
- Comments to Video Competition Report Public Notice – filed October 10, 2017
- FCC’s Annual Video Competition Report
- Comments for 19th Report (filed 10.10.17)
- Selected Documents and Legislation from the 114th Congress
- House Letter to Chairman Wheeler on Set-top box proposal – Signed by 61 Members, sent 5.5.16
- Selected Video Legislation Introduced in the 113th Congress
- H.R. 5728, The STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014 – Introduced by Rep. Upton (R-MI)
- H.R. 3720, The Next Generation Television Marketplace Act – Introduced by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA)
- H.R. 3719, The Video CHOICE Act – Introduced by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA)
- Fact sheet released by Rep. Eshoo
- WTA press release – issued 12.12.13
- S. 1680, The Consumer Choice in Online Video Act – Introduced by Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV)
- WTA press release – issued 11.14.13
- FCC’s Retransmission Consent Proceedings
- NPRM on Good Faith in Retransmission Consent Negotiations
- WTA Comments – filed 12.1.2015
- WTA Reply Comments – filed 1.14.2016
- NPRM – released 3.28.11
- Joint Comments of WTA, OPASTCO, NTCA, ITTA and RICA – filed 5.27.11
- FCC’s NPRM on “Unlocking” the Set-Top Box
- NPRM – released 2.18.2016
- WTA Comments – filed 4.22.2016
- FCC’s FNPRM on Broadcast Network Non-Duplication Rules
- FNPRM – released 3.3.14
- WTA’s Comments – filed 6.26.14