ATVA and NCTA Want Gray Top-4 Duopoly Blocked
The FCC can’t ignore retransmission consent ramifications of Gray Television’s proposed purchase of stations from Red River Broadcast to create a top-four duopoly in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, said the American TV Alliance and NCTA in comments on the proposed…
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transaction Monday. Gray’s application doesn’t address the deal's possible retrans harms, ATVA said. “This is a remarkable omission in light of the importance of retransmission consent to Gray’s overall revenues.” Gray “has failed to satisfy its burden of showing that the Top-Four Prohibition should be lifted in these circumstances,” NCTA said. Gray hasn’t shown that the deal’s public interest benefits outweigh possible retrans harms, NCTA and ATVA said. The benefits listed by Gray, such as improved local news coverage, “are plainly not cognizable” and aren’t “transaction-specific nor verifiable” ATVA said. The media ownership reconsideration order lists retrans as an area the FCC will consider in case-by-case review of top-four duopoly proposals, so the deal’s potential to lead to higher consumer fees shouldn’t be ignored, ATVA said. The broadcaster didn’t comment.