Editorial: On the Warning Track

FCC chairman Tom Wheeler is trying to use his bully pulpit to encourage Time Warner Cable and, presumably, the other parties to the L.A. Dodgers’ carriage impasse to strike a deal. We hope it goes no further. Wheeler has vowed to intervene if necessary to protect consumers, but he has also said he prefers a marketplace solution. So do we.

The precedent of the government stepping into the middle of negotiations at the behest of Congress—the move followed a letter from California congressional officials—is not one that any private party should welcome.