Verizon Tells Rosenworcel It Wants Retrans Negotiation Restrictions on 3.0

The FCC should prevent broadcasters from making MVPDs carry ATSC 3.0 as a condition of carrying their 1.0 signal, said Verizon in a meeting with aides to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel Wednesday, said a filing the next day in docket 16-142. The FCC should “impose a one-year ‘quiet’ period prior to the expiration of a retransmission consent agreement for an ATSC 1.0 signal, during which time the broadcast station cannot negotiate for the first-time carriage of an ATSC 3.0 signal,” Verizon said. A draft order predicted to be circulated soon isn't expected to contain provisions on 3.0 in retrans negotiations, and isn’t expected to receive Rosenworcel’s vote (see 1710170048). Protections are necessary so MVPDs aren't forced to make expenditures to allow them to transmit 3.0, Verizon said. The carrier endorsed requiring broadcasts to simulcast both standards, and said the agency should require broadcasters to air “the same programming as the ATSC 3.0 broadcast, with approximately the same geographic coverage, in the same format (high definition or standard definition) and at the same bitrate as the broadcast station’s current DTV over-the-air broadcast.”