WASHINGTON, D.C. — The top two leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which maintains oversight of the FCC, have put the wheels in motion for a Congressional hearing scheduled for September 13 that seeks to ensure “outdated regulations do not hinder innovation and competition” with respect to the U.S. video marketplace.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chair Bob Latta (R-Ohio) will convene the hearing, which carries the name, “Lights, Camera, Subscriptions: Assessing the State of the Video Marketplace.”
The discussion will begin at 2pm Eastern in room 2322 of the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill.
In a statement, Latta and McMorris Rodgers explained why they have convened the hearing. “Over the last decade, the video marketplace has undergone a transformative shift as more media content moves online,” they said. “The introduction of streaming services expanded the options for consumers to choose where, when, and what content they view. While there is an unprecedented amount of content, like movies, TV shows, and news, available, the rise of these services creates challenges for traditional media providers who continue to compete despite being saddled with regulations.”
Those could be code words for a potential reexamination of retransmission consent, and regulatory policy that dates back 30 years. And, it could be a preamble to a turf war between House Republicans and Senate Democrats, as Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), an in-state rival of McMorris Rodgers, has already made it clear that extending retrans consent legislation to vMVPDs is of interest. As chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, she’s open to a hearing that would accomplish this.
House Republicans may have other plans, and given the impasse that began August 31 between Charter Communications, owner of the Spectrum MVPD, and ABC Owned Stations parent The Walt Disney Company, a potentially divisive Congress could be primed to mirror the battle pitting the NAB and broadcast TV station owners against ACA Connects, the American Television Alliance (ATVA) and MVPDs.
“We look forward to discussing the evolution of this market, the steps Congress can take to ensure outdated regulations do not hinder innovation and competition, as well as how to bring the traditional marketplace into the 21st century,” McMorris Rodgers and Latta said.
