ACA Threatens ATSC 3.0 Recon Petition Over Retrans Negotiations

The American Cable Association will petition for reconsideration of the ATSC 3.0 order if broadcasters put undue pressure on small cable operators to carry the standard, ACA said in docket 16-142, posted Tuesday. Such petitions can be submitted within 30 days of the order's publication in the Federal Register, and many ACA members will be negotiating retransmission consent deals in the next month, the group said. It cited Commissioner Mike O'Rielly's warning at commissioners' November meeting he would be watching for examples of possible violations of good-faith rules for 3.0 carriage. "Should broadcasters insist on ATSC 3.0 carriage in their negotiations with ACA members, the 'concrete examples' of which Commissioner O'Rielly spoke may become available sooner rather than later," ACA said. "We hope, however, that broadcasters will show some measure of restraint."