Perspectives from FSF Scholars May 8, 2024 Vol. 19, No. 17

Were it to embrace an up-to-date, honest understanding of the state of the video- distribution marketplace in 2024, the Commission surely should conclude to shelve its pending rulemakings that only would suppress competition further: • It would see the error in its recently announced intention to infringe upon traditional MVPDs' freedom to contract with programmers – programmers that have countles. [...] By way of example, a footnote on the second page of the so-called Fostering Independent and Diverse Sources of Video Programming Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) released last month paints a clear picture of the plight of traditional – and, more to the point, regulated – MVPDs: 8 Million Homes Dump Big TV Channel Bundle In Last 12 Months, nScreenMedia.com (Aug. [...] Conclusion In the past, I have argued that the steady rise of Internet-based video distributing rivals – and the concomitant decline of traditional MVPDs – is generating robust competition that should compel both Congress and the Commission to eliminate existing statutory and regulatory constraints on the ability of the latter to compete. [...] In the face of the current onslaught of additional regulations singling out traditional MVPDs, however, here I simply urge the Rosenworcel FCC to own up to the way its actions are tilting the playing field to the detriment of cable operators and DBS providers – and, more importantly, to take responsibility for the harmful impact those actions are having on the ability of competition to maximize ov. [...] The views expressed in this Perspectives do not necessarily reflect the views of others on the staff of the Free State Foundation or those affiliated with it.