Seek Comment on Consequences of Expanding MVPD Definitions, NCTA Urges FCC

NCTA urged the FCC to seek comment on the full range of issues and potential consequences of expanding obligations of multichannel video programming distributors if it plans to explore the MVPD issue in a rulemaking proceeding. Expanding the MVPD definition to include online video distributors (OVDs) would misconstrue the provisions of the Communications Act “and raise a host of practical and regulatory concerns,” NCTA said in an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 12-83 (http://bit.ly/1swUEdy). To the extent that the FCC finds that OVDs qualify as MVPDs, OVDs “must be subject to the obligations of MVPD status as well as its benefits,” like program carriage, closed captioning and emergency alerts, it said. Giving OVDs regulatory benefits that Congress provided to traditional facilities-based MVPDs without imposing their obligations “would dilute and undermine the policy goals underlying those obligations-including fair marketplace competition,” NCTA said. The filing pertained to a meeting with Chief Bill Lake and other staff from his Media Bureau, and staff from the Office of General Counsel.