New Rules Sought on TV Retransmission

A group of television providers including big hitters like DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Verizon, have asked the FCC to take another look at the rules governing retransmission of stations. The present agreement was reached in 1992. This action was brought about due to the 21 hour cessation of transmissions last week, notably blocking out part of the Oscar Presentations.

The retransmission rules "have repercussions for what Americans can view and how much they pay for it," Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, wrote in a letter last week to the F.C.C. chairman, Julius Genachowski. Mr. Kerry, who has been vocal about the cable fee issue, asserted that the current rules were outdated, adding, "we need to fix the system."

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