Kerry Pushes FCC to Step Into DirecTV-Sunbeam Dispute

Wants the chairman to "immediately and personally" ask DirecTV and Sunbeam to reach a deal and restore WHDH Boston and WLVI Miami to DirecTV

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/20/2012 3:01:55 PM

While most retrans deals in the latest round have been done without blackouts, the Sunbeam-DirecTV impasse has drawn a letter from Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) to the FCC, asking it to step in, and while it is at it, complete the retrans rulemaking prompted partly by earlier, high-profile blackouts that drew congressional attention.

Kerry said in a letter to FCC chairman Julius Genachowski, that he did not know the terms of the proposals or the reason for the impasse, but said that in the interests of his constituents, he wants the chairman to "immediately and personally" ask DirecTV and Sunbeam to reach a deal and restore WHDH Boston (and WLVI Miami) to DirecTV, saying he continues to hear from families who are the "collateral damage" in retrans disputes. "No one wants to see this trend continue," he said, "but I fear these confrontations will only continue to reach their peaks abound the 'must see' live events that matter so much to consumers."

The chairman's office had no comment, but the chairman has historically expressed the commission's reluctance to get into the middle of retrans disputes while urging the parties to do their best to come to an agreement for the sake of viewers.

Kerry pointed out that it was the third year in a row he has contacted the FCC about a retrans dispute, and urged it to complete its pending rulemaking on retrans reform.