The broadcaster asks the FCC for 'emeregency" relief, claiming the satellite provider is not negotiating in good faith over a new distribution contract.
Brady Calls On FCC For Help In Retrans Battle
Frustrated in its effort to cut a new retransmission consent deal with DirecTV, Brian Brady’s group of small-market TV stations today asked the FCC to intercede — to find that the satellite TV operator is not dealing in good faith as required by law and to force it to divulge retrans pricing information it claims to have.
According to its FCC petition for “emergency” relief, the Brady group has been trying to hammer out a new deal with DirecTV since last fall. While the negotiations drag on, it says, it is permitting DirecTV to continue carrying its signals through a series of extensions to a 2011 contract that expired on Feb. 1.
An “unbridgeable chasm has opened” in the negotiations, the group says.
In the course of negotiations, it says, it has supported its demands for retrans fees with pricing from 15 other deals.
“These many separate contracts establish, as a matter of verifiable fact, the competitive market price for its signals,” it says.
DirecTV claims that its counteroffer is also supported by such facts, the Brady groups says, but it has “repeatedly and resolutely refused” to share them.
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“DirectTV is in effect arguing that special rules apply to it, allowing it to dictate price on the basis of unverified claims that are squarely at odds with the verified facts [it] has supplied in good faith,” it says.
DirecTV is acting the bully, the Brady group also alleges. “DirecTV can afford a prolonged dispute (including signal blackouts) much more easily than can [the Brady group],” it says.
The Brady group operates stations in seven small- to moderate-size markets, such as Spokane, Wash., and Yuma, Ariz., it says, adding: “DirecTV, by contrast, is a nationwide satellite provider, with 2014 revenues of $33.3 billion and, as of June 9, 2015, a market capitalization of $46.23 billion.”
In a separate petition, the Brady group objected to DirecTV’s proposed merger with AT&T and asked the FCC postpone any action on it until it resolves its good faith complaint against DirecTV.
Comments (6)
Don Thompson says:
June 15, 2015 at 3:32 pm
Gosh, I thought the free-market is working. Here’s the answer for the Brady Bunch: Local Choice.
Please follow me on Twitter: @TedatACA
kendra campbell says:
June 15, 2015 at 3:51 pm
This is not a FCC problem. Brady can lower his asking price and the impasse will be resolved.
Gene Johnson says:
June 15, 2015 at 3:57 pm
Right, or just as easily DirectTV could pay a reasonable fee to resolve the impasse. The question Brady raises is whether DirectTV is unreasonably refusing to negotiate such a deal.
Manuel Morales says:
June 15, 2015 at 5:14 pm
Time to sell Brian. This is the market at work. Aggregation of stations is the only way to go.
Joanne McDonald says:
June 15, 2015 at 6:43 pm
I favored Sagamore Hill buying KYMA/KSWT in Yuma with KYMA/KSWT continuing to be managed by News Press Gazette owned KECY in Yuma and KVTV in Laredo so KVTV can be allowed to be the sister station and full/semi-satellite of KZTV in Corpus Christi again after Brady sold KZTV to Sagamore Hill and be managed and operated by Cordillera owned KRIS in Corpus Christi since Sagamore Hill already sold off KGNS in Laredo at first was sold off to Yellowstone/Frontier Radio and sold KGNS to Gray Television. I favored Sinclair trying to buy all of Brady’s stations in Washington and Oregon with KAYU continuing to be operated as a stand alone station in Spokane where Sinclair owns a station out of state in Idaho being within part of the Spokane TV DMA and Sinclair can placed the signals of Brady’s FOX stations in Pendleton, OR/Tri-Cities, WA; Yakima, WA; and Medford, OR on the digital multicast signals of Sinclair’s existing CBS stations in those markets as the OTA signals of the Sinclair counterparts are better than the OTA signals of Brady’s Northwest counterparts. I favored Quincy buying WICZ/WBPN LD in Binghamton and WSYT/WNYS in Syracuse in New York from Brady. —————————————————————————————————- I agree with you Sammy for the comment that Brady would be better off selling all of the stations he operates. Brady even sold off KNEX LP to Gray Television to be co-owned with KGNS http://rbr.com/gray-strikes-a-deal-in-the-low-lane/ http://rbr.com/another-low-key-deal-from-gray/ with Gray’s intention to air Telemundo programming on KNEX LP in HDTV while KGNS aired Telemundo in SDTV on the DT3 with ABC in HDTV on the DT2 and NBC in HDTV on DT1 as more of a way for Brian William Brady through my own opinions and theories to possibly compete with Sinclair Broadcast Group, Duane Lammers-Granite Broadcasting, Mark Nalbone-WyoMedia, Cordillera Communications Max Media, and SJL Broadcasting/Lilly of possibly wanting to pursue in pursuit of acquiring NTV(KHGI-KWNB)/KFXL FOX Nebraska(KFXL) from Harry J Pappas/Pappas Telecasting being under David L Stapleton/Pappas Liquidating Trust in the Lincoln-Grand Island-Hastings-Kearney TV DMA where in the same TV DMA market having KGNS owner-parent Gray Television controlled 10/11(KOLN-KGIN/NBC Nebraska(KSNB) since 2013 after Pappas sold KSWT to Brady to operate with KYMA in Yuma and Gray buying KGNS as likely putting pressure for Brady to compete with the Gray controlled KGNS in Laredo as the possibly of Brady likely having an interest in pursuing NTV/KFXL from Pappas as more of a way for Brady to get even with Gray controlling 10/11 and NBC Nebraska in the Lincoln TV DMA.
Keith ONeal says:
June 15, 2015 at 10:00 pm
Go back to your basement playroom, James!