OTT-as-MVPD Could Open Door to Nonprofits Distributing Broadcast Signals Online, Telletopia Says

Broadcaster resistance to online video distributor (OVD) carriage of full local broadcast signals without compensation in the absence of any online distributor version of retransmission consent, and lack of a compulsory copyright licensing mechanism for online distribution of local broadcast signals, are the two big hurdles to OVD offering local broadcast content, the Telletopia Foundation said in an FCC ex parte filing posted Monday in docket 14-261. The nonprofit with an over-the-top (OTT) video service said it met with Commissioner Ajit Pai's chief of staff, Matthew Berry, on the proposed extension of the definition of multichannel video programming distributors (MVPD) to include types of OVD. While Telletopia plans to pay broadcasters, it said, there's no framework aside from MVPD retrans. Station owners and broadcast networks themselves, meanwhile, "are unable to solve the complex copyright licensing problems associated with bringing the full 24-hour live stream of local broadcast content to the Internet," Telletopia said. Expanding the MVPD umbrella to cover some OVDs, as well as OVD protections safeguarding against discriminatory licensing practices, "will remove the first roadblock," it said: Doing away with copyright hurdles could involve the Copyright Office, Congress and legal action, and "could take months -- even years -- to accomplish." But doing away with the retrans hurdle, Telletopia as a nonprofit would be able to take advantage of the nonprofit exemption in the Copyright Act and could start online delivery of stations to IP-enabled devices, it said. In a news release unveiling its proposed browser-based OTT service, Telletopia said it plans to begin in major U.S. cities in 2016, pending the FCC decision. NAB didn't comment Tuesday.