Federal Communications Commission	"FCC  XX-XXX"


STATEMENT OF
CHAIRWOMAN JESSICA ROSENWORCEL

Re:	Customer Rebates for Undelivered Video Programming During Blackouts, MB Docket No. 24-20, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. 

You should get what you pay for.  It’s a simple principle.  But for too many consumers, this is not happening.  When they turn on the television to watch the local news, their favorite show, or the big game, the screen goes dark.  Instead of the programming they were sold when they signed up for service, they get a message telling them that their cable or satellite company is in a dispute with a broadcast company and until these two battle it out, they are stuck with a blackout.  It’s not right.  And it’s happening too often, for longer periods of time.   

	Enough.  When consumers are saddled with a blackout like this, I think they deserve a refund.  They should not be asked to shell out for programming that they were promised but are unable to watch.  This rulemaking is about fairness.  It asks questions about how our rules can make sure consumers get what they pay for and not have to spend for service they are not getting and screens that go dark.

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