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Nexstar-Tegna merger could cost consumers more money

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Bill-in-CT

If the FCC allows a merged Nexstar-Tegna to reach 80% of U.S. television households instead of the current cap of 39%, Nexstar-Tegna could have too much power in negotiating retransmission fees with cable companies and other providers. Of course, retransmission fees are passed on to customers.

ATVA (The American Television Alliance) last month commented to the FCC that the "national cap" should not be changed because "Eliminating the rule poses a real threat to consumers’ wallets."

In its filing to the FCC, ATVA wrote, "As broadcasters increase their national reach, particularly the larger ones with the highest retransmission consent fees (e.g., Nexstar), they obtain additional leverage in retransmission consent negotiations."

 
The solution for all this is to make broadcast stations an optional tier on video providers, instead of forcing them on all subscribers. You can still get broadcast TV for free with an antenna.

If you subscribe to Peacock, Paramount+ and Disney+/Hulu you pretty much have all the network prime time shows as part of those packages.
 
In 1889, the U.S. Congress passed, and the sitting President signed, the Sherman Antitrust Act designed to break up the big monopolies that charged extravagant prices for their services. In 1914, the Sherman Antitrust Act was strengthened by the Clayton Antitrust Act which gave the Federal government additional powers to go after and break up monopolies. Consider that the last time a monopoly was broken up under Sherman/Clayton was the breakup of the Bell Telephone Company back in 1984. We have not broken up another monopoly since then, regardless of which power was in power.

There have been many justifications for the new monopolies now from Judge Robert Bork's "Some monopolies are good for consumers," to people arguing today on this very list that monopolies should be allowed in broadcasting to compete with the new forms of media out there, including the Internet. However, the biggest concern of those who passsed the Clayton and Sherman Antitrust Acts had to do with one person or corporation holding monopoly power in a given area, regardless of whichever area that was. That idea remained strongly in my mind as I read the comments on why some broadcasters should be allowed to merge so they can justify price hikes in what cable companies will pay them.
 


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