WASHINGTON -- NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith issued a statement today praising the efforts of several broadcast TV groups and cable operators following the groups' recent carriage agreements. In recent days, FOX and Time Warner Cable, as well as Fisher Communications and Bright House Networks, reached program carriage agreements through a process known as retransmission consent.
"Thousands of retransmission consent agreements have been successfully negotiated between broadcasters and our pay television distribution partners since Congress passed the 1992 Cable Act acknowledging the value of broadcast programming," said NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith. "These recent announcements validate our long-standing position that the marketplace is indeed working, and we salute FOX, Fisher and our friends in the cable industry for their commitment to this fair, market-based process."
Retransmission consent is the market-based process in which cable operators and other pay TV providers are required to periodically negotiate carriage rights to the most highly watched programming supplied by local TV stations and their network broadcasting partners. A recent study, available online here, highlights the many successes of the retransmission consent process.
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The National Association of Broadcasters is the premier advocacy association for America's broadcasters. NAB advances radio and television interests in legislative, regulatory and public affairs. Through advocacy, education and innovation, NAB enables broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital age. Learn more at www.nab.org.