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| Jay Rockefeller |
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.), the chairman of the Senate
Commerce Committee, is introducing legislation to bolster the online video
market, what he says is an effort to prevent cable and satellite companies from
using their power to limit the growth of services like Netflix and Amazon.
The Consumer Choice in Online Video Act, which Rockefeller
intends to introduce on Tuesday afternoon, would bar cable, satellite and large
media companies from engaging in “anti-competitive” practices against online
video distributors. It would do so in part by putting “reasonable limits” on
contractual provisions in carriage contracts that limit online providers’
access to programming.
An aide to Rockefeller told Variety that the legislation
would allow online video providers to choose to be considered like cable and
satellite providers, giving them a “pathway to negotiate for content” the way
that cable and satellite providers do. The 1992 Cable Act included regulations
designed to prevent companies from limiting access to channels as a way to
stifle competition. If an online service chooses to be treated like a cable or
satellite provider, it also would face certain retransmission consent and must
carry regulations over the carriage of broadcast signals.
The legislation also would limit the ability of a cable or
satellite company that also provides Internet service to “degrade” competitive
online video services. Specifics of the legislation have yet to be released.
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