1STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER JESSICA ROSENWORCEL
Re: Amendment of the Commission's Rules Related to Retransmission Consent, MB Docket No. 10-71
Few Americans have heard of the term “retransmission consent.”  It is one of those 
wonky and lawyerly things we bandy about in these halls and in this town.  Fewer still know that 
more than two decades ago Congress prohibited retransmitting a broadcast television station’s 
signal without the station’s consent—and at the same time directed parties negotiating for this 
consent to do so in “good faith.” 
But far too many Americans know what happens when retransmission consent 
negotiations go wrong.  
First, it is pretty clear to consumers that something is not right when they turn on the 
television for the news, their favorite show, or the game, and instead get saddled with a dark 
screen.  They may not know how and why retransmission consent negotiations between 
broadcasters and their cable or satellite company have failed, but they know a blackout means 
they are not getting the programming they paid for.  When this happens, I think they are owed a 
refund.  
Second, it is pretty clear to consumers that what they pay for television programming 
packages goes up too far too fast.  I am under no illusion that retransmission consent is the main 
driver of increased programming costs.  But it is a piece of a larger system that deserves 
attention.   
So it is for these two reasons—the incidence of extended blackouts and the creep upward 
of rates—that I support today’s action.  By limiting joint negotiations by local broadcasters, I am 
hopeful we can reduce the extent of retransmission consent blackouts.  I am also hopeful we can 
help keep consumer rates more level.  Because the record reflects that when stations jointly 
negotiate, retransmission consent fees are higher, and those higher charges get passed on to 
consumers.  So I think our efforts today are a good development—not only because I am a 
regulator, but because I am a consumer who watches and pays bills, too.