Time Warner Cable attorneys discussed with Media Bureau officials whether...
Time Warner Cable attorneys discussed with Media Bureau officials whether FCC rules would prevent a TV station from pulling its signal off a cable system during a ratings “sweeps” period, an ex parte notice shows (http://xrl.us/bndbqv). The company’s retransmission consent…
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agreement to carry Hearst’s TV stations was set to expire Saturday, the notice said. “Hearst has taken the position that the rule imposes obligations only on cable operators, and that it therefore may pull its signals during sweeps period with unilateral control of the timing of such a decision,” the notice said. TWC sees it differently, its lawyers explained in the meeting. “The sweeps rule is contained in Section 614 and, as part of the must-carry statute, should apply only to stations that have elected must-carry status,” the notice said. But even if the commission views the rule as applicable to retransmission-consent stations, “the plain language of Section 614(b)(9) is best read to impose symmetrical obligations on cable operators and broadcasters, such that if a cable operator is barred from taking down a signal during a sweeps period, then broadcasters likewise are required to maintain carriage throughout a sweeps period,” it said. “Accordingly, where a station has withdrawn retransmission consent immediately before or during a sweeps period, the sweeps rule would appear to authorize a cable operator to continue carrying the station as a must-carry station through the end of the sweeps period.” A Hearst spokesman declined to comment.