Univision Asks FCC For Retrans Exemption

Univision Communications is asking the FCC to allow the company to continue negotiating retransmission consent deals for all Entravision Communications TV stations — even though most broadcasters could soon be barred from negotiating retrans agreements for multiple stations in the same market.

Univision is seeking special relief from the FCC because the agency is expected to adopt a new regulation on March 31 that would generally bar broadcasters from joint TV station retransmission consent negotiations.

Under the proposal, the FCC would prohibit two or more separately owned Top 4 broadcast stations in the same market from jointly negotiating retrans deals.

The FCC order, assuming it’s approved, also will include a “rebuttable presumption that the costs of joint negotiation by non-Top-4 station combinations in the same market outweigh the benefits, and that joint negotiation among these combinations constitutes a failure to negotiate in good faith,” the FCC said in a recent background paper.

The proposed regulations could throw a monkey wrench into Univision and Entravision’s existing negotiations, because Univision currently negotiates retrans deals for Entravision and each of the companies currently owns non-top 4 ranked stations in six of the same markets, Univision said in a lobbying disclosure letter filed at the FCC.

“A negative presumption with respect to joint negotiations by separately owned, same-market, non top-4 stations would have the effect of preventing UTG (Univision Television Group) from negotiating on behalf of some, but not all, of the Entravision stations, thereby diminishing the efficiencies of group negotiations,” Univision said in its FCC disclosure letter, adding that an unnamed but major pay TV provider has asked that Univision negotiate retrans deals in Entravision’s behalf.

“We urged the commission to address this anomalous situation by creating an exemption from the negative presumption where group-wide negotiations by one broadcaster on behalf of another involve a subset of collocated non top-4 rated stations,” Univision said in its disclosure document. “Alternatively, we proposed that this sort of unique circumstance be deemed sufficient to overcome the negative presumption.”

The disclosure document said that pitch was presented by Univision EVP Jonathan Schwartz during meetings with Commissioner Ajit Pai and other agency officials on March 21.

Brian Dietz, a spokesman for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, declined comment on Univision’s request for an exemption. But during a March 24 visit with FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, Michael Powell, NCTA president-CEO, reiterated the association’s support for a “rule prohibiting non-commonly owned broadcast stations in the same market from jointly negotiating for retransmission consent,” according an NCTA lobbying disclosure filing at the FCC.

Entravision owns or manages 53 TV stations, with most of those affiliated with Univision’s Univision or UniMas networks, according to Entravision’s website. Univision owns 62 TV stations, with 41 full powers and 21 low powers in 26 markets.