Must-Carry/Retransmission Consent Election

Date(s): Oct/01/2020

Commercial television stations with must-carry rights are required to elect either retransmission consent or mandatory carriage (must-carry) on local cable and satellite systems, and noncommercial television stations must make satellite carriage elections.  By October 1, 2020, stations required to maintain a Public Inspection File must place in that file their carriage election statement(s) providing notice of the station’s election.  This election applies to the upcoming three-year carriage cycle (which begins on January 1, 2021) for commercial television stations, and applies indefinitely for noncommercial television stations.  Note that the FCC has revised its carriage lection rules such that placement of election statements in a station’s Public Inspection File replaces the previous process of sending election notices to cable and satellite systems via certified mail.  Qualified LPTV and NCE translator stations, neither of which are required to maintain a Public Inspection File, must by October 1, 2020 notify MVPDs of their elections by email.

Categories

• Cable/Satellite TV
• Events
• Low Power FM & Translators
• Must-Carry/Retransmission Consent
• Noncommercial Operation
• Ownership Law & Regulation
• Television