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Local broadcast station groups, with the support of the ABC, NBC, Fox and CBS television affiliate associations representing more than 600 stations across the country, today introduced the Coalition for Local News, a new advocacy group urging lawmakers and regulators to act now to protect the future of local news in America.
The Coalition for Local News says it is “dedicated to the belief that local news is essential to the well-being of local communities across the nation and is a vital pillar of American democracy. As the most trusted source of news for Americans, local news broadcasts provide timely coverage of important issues and events, emergency weather service, and access to lifesaving information.
“The future of local broadcast news is threatened by regulations that need to be modernized and government inaction in exercising existing authority to protect the ability of local news outlets to compete.
“One glaring example,” it cites, “is the ‘streaming loophole” in the current FCC rule requiring cable and satellite providers, but not online streaming services, to negotiate directly with local broadcasters for carriage of their stations. Today, streaming services represent about one-third of the pay TV market and are growing quickly.”
Local television stations, the group says, “have lost control of their retransmission consent rights under current rules that cut them out of the negotiating process with streaming services. Without the ability to negotiate directly with streaming services, local broadcasters cannot obtain the compensation necessary for them to sustain their substantial investments in local news.”