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Is retransmission consent still needed in 2016: a look at regulation, consumers, technology and profit
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Is retransmission consent still needed in 2016: a look at regulation, consumers, technology and profit

Chelsea A. O'Rourke
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
Aug 2016
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/etd-6935
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ORourke_Chelsea_2016394.55 kBDownloadView
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Abstract

Television--Management Cable television--Law and legislation Television stations--United States--Management
Let's say you are ready to relax and to watch your favorite network television show on your cable box. You sit down, pick up the remote and tune to the appropriate number channel to find CBS. No thought needed. Well that channel is being provided to you as a result of the cable company's negotiation with CBS known as "Retransmission Consent". Such negotiations became a requirement of federal regulation implemented in 1992 and have been controversial in the cable and satellite industries ever since. Now, these negotiations sometimes fail resulting in a broadcasting impasse with the consumers sitting down at their televisions and seeing a blackout of certain channels. Is this impasse a profit grab or truly an unnecessary battle caused by regulation and the changing impact of ever-changing technology? With technology changing how the television industry traditionally did business, many changes have taken place over the last twenty-five years. Consumers, technology and profit, are at the heart of the process and the ongoing debate. This research paper evaluates whether the current form of regulation is still needed today; whether modifications should be made or even whether the regulation should be repealed.

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