Media Bureau Reverses Finding on Broadcaster Retrans Complaint Against Dish
Dish Network -- not its reseller OpticalTel -- is responsible for following Communications Act requirements on retransmission consent of WXCW Naples, Florida, the FCC Media Bureau said in a docket 14-258 order posted Monday dismissing WXCW's complaint against OpticalTel. The…
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order follows an OpticalTel petition for reconsideration that was filed after a 2016 order that concluded OpticalTel had retransmitted WXCW's signal without retrans consent. That 2016 order "erroneously focused" on whether Dish provided OpticalTel with transport services and not the right to retransmit the WXCW signal when it should have focused on clear precedent that retrans consent obligations rest with the DBS operator not the reseller, the bureau said. The bureau also dismissed an objection by WXCW owner Sun Broadcasting and said language Sun cited in the Cable Act doesn't change the fact a DBS operator needs to get retrans consent where it allows a reseller to distribute its service. Sun counsel didn't comment Monday.