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the Rules Related to Retransmission Consent, MB Docket No.
10-71, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (March 31, 2014) 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 b