Cincinnati Bell, doing business as Altafiber, has filed a retransmission consent complaint against Cox Media/Apollo's WHIO-TV, the CBS affiliate in Dayton, Ohio, and the top station in the market, for allegedly failing to negotiate in good faith, as FCC rules require, by trying to charge a fee for over-the-top video streamers as well as traditional cable subs.
Cincinnati Bell says that would constitute a "crippling" fee.
The telco, which is trying to launch a fiber to the premises (FTTP) video service combining cable and broadband, says its issue is that the station won't grant retrans rights unless it gets a per-sub fee from most non-cable as well as cable subs, even though the former are not getting retransmitted TV station signals. "Imposing retransmission consent fees on broadband subscribers, to whom no retransmission is made, would not only increase the cost of broadband service but it has the immediate impact of foreclosing competition," it says.
The telco says it has been trying to secure retrans rights since 2019.
According to Cincinnati Bell, "Cox confirmed that even if such a subscriber merely streamed YouTube videos or purchased a Netflix subscription, it demands payment of retransmission consent fees despite the absence of any retransmission by Altafiber." [...] read more @ nexttv.com
UGLY precedent; Cox Media wants retrans fees from internet-only subscribers
UGLY precedent; Cox Media wants retrans fees from internet-only subscribers
This is scary!
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