New Cash Driven Retransmission Consent War?

Happy New Year to all....may your top 3 dreams come true and a bit of magic touch your lives this year..

The following may be the initial retrans skirmish in what might become a retransmission consent push for cash. For years, the broadcast option for retransmission consent requirement as opposed to a straight-forward must-carry notice, has been the subject of oft cited abuse by trading the retransmission consent for the launch of broadcast-related cable channels. While, at times, an argument has been made that the only sensible intent of the retrans rules would be a cash compensation negotiation, if more broadcast channels choose the cash route then the industry will see more stand-offs like this (which cable always loses in the press and public relations battles) and more reasons for cable ops to use money pressures as excuses to hold back cable network license fees.

All in all, more cause for the entire must-carry regulatory scheme to be questioned, yet the possibility of digital multi-cast must carry remains. Did I say, happy new year?