Fubo has gained attention from consumers and from Wall Street by becoming a sports-first virtual MVPD. But, does that mean Fubo and other vMVPDs should be subject to the same retransmission consent rules that apply to traditional cable TV service providers?
The executives at Fubo don’t think so.
On July 19, representatives from FuboTV Inc. met via video conference with members
of the FCC Media Bureau’s Policy Division to “affirm the appropriateness and benefits to consumers” of the Commission’s interpretation of the term “multichannel video programming distributor” (MVPD).
The meeting discussed that, for almost a decade following the Commission’s 2014 solicitation of comments on its proposal to include virtual MVPDs (vMVPDs) within its interpretation of MVPDs, competition and consumer access to local stations has increased through the carriage of such local stations by vMVPDs, including Fubo.
More specifically, approximately 97% of local stations are available to Fubo subscribers.
Accordingly, Fubo noted that changes to the current interpretation of MVPD to include vMVPDs would “create an inefficient market and decrease the number of local stations available to consumers, which would negatively impact consumers and local stations.”
The comments from Steven J. Brody, FuboTV Inc.’s Assistant General Counsel of Regulatory & Government Affairs, are certain to raise a stir among broadcast television station owners, who along with Sen. Maria Cantwell have pledged to move forward with a bill that would extend retrans rules to virtual MVPDs.
For Fubo, along with the American Television Alliance (ATVA) and ACA Connects, any retransmission consent fee is bad. Fubo takes it a step further, asserting that compensating broadcast TV station owners with the fair value of their over-the-air stations vMVPDs profit from could lead to permanent blackouts.
The proposal to extend retransmission consent rules to vMVPDs is tied to MB Docket No. 14-261.
