FCC Needs RSN Data for Charter/BHN/TWC Review, ACA Says
The FCC needs data on the regional sports networks (RSNs) operated by Charter Communications, Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable if it's going to weigh how Charter's proposed takeover of the other two will affect those networks and their…
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pricing, the American Cable Association said in a submission posted Tuesday in docket 15-149. While the market boundaries of stations and nationally distributed cable programming are easily definable, "the precise market boundaries of RSNs are generally known only to their owners," ACA said. So to figure out how the Charter acquisitions will affect competition and consumers, the FCC should start by requesting such data as what regionally distributed sports programming networks are distributed in what census blocks, what professional sports are available on those networks and the geographic footprint of that programming's distribution, ACA said.