FCC Urged To Help Affilities Resolve Differences With CBS Network

Representatives from the CBS Television Network Affiliates Association, accompanied by their legal team, met last week with FCC Media Bureau staffers David Brown, Jeremy Miller, Chris Robbins, and Emily Harrison to discuss the proposed Paramount Global-Skydance merger. 

TV Tech reports the affiliates urged the FCC to impose conditions to bolster local stations’ ability to serve their communities with local news and programming, while addressing concerns about CBS’s control over affiliate finances, virtual MVPD (vMVPD) retransmission consent negotiations, program exclusivity, and affiliation renewal practices.

The meeting, summarized in a letter, highlighted ongoing tensions between station owners and broadcast networks, particularly around network affiliate fees and retransmission negotiations with vMVPDs like Hulu and YouTube TV. 

Station group owners, supported by the National Association of Broadcasters, have been advocating to the FCC and Congress for authority to negotiate directly with vMVPDs, arguing this could increase retransmission fees. Major network owners, including Paramount, The Walt Disney Co. (ABC), and NBCUniversal, oppose this change, citing potential increases in consumer pay TV costs.

The significance of the issue was underscored by the attendance of senior executives, including Dan York (Co Media Group CEO and Affiliates Association chairman), Chris Ripley (Sinclair president and CEO, association secretary), Pat LaPlatney (Gray Media president and co-CEO), and lawyers from Cooley LLP. The affiliates emphasized that merger approval conditions should prioritize strengthening local stations and resolving disputes over CBS’s influence on affiliate operations and vMVPD negotiations. 

They urged the FCC to consider these concerns during the merger review process.