JESSELL AT LARGE
Big Retrans Downside To Telletopia Plan
Startup Telletopia believes that it can retransmit the broadcast signals on the Internet and avoid all copyright liability by operating as a nonprofit. It says it would pay broadcasters for their signals, but if the FCC doesn’t rule that Telletopia and other online video providers are subject to the same retrans obligations as cable and satellite operators, what’s to stop Charlie Ergen or others from setting up nonprofits to take station signals for free?
