Broadcaster fees at risk in FCC move

The U.S. government wants to make sure you don't miss televised events such as the Super Bowl or the latest episode of The Big Bang Theory.

The Federal Communications Commission is considering whether to restrict tactics that broadcasters - like Super Bowl host and Big Bang presenter CBS Corp. - can use as they try to extract greater fees from cable and satellite TV providers.

For broadcasters, that could mean a loss of clout as they try to make up for sluggish advertising revenue.

"This clearly bears watching for media companies," Paul Gallant, a Washington-based analyst with Guggenheim Securities, said in a note Thursday.

Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp. is part of this discussion, as both a cable TV operator and broadcaster through its NBCUniversal division.

Impasses in contract negotiations are increasingly leading to programs' temporarily disappearing from pay-TV systems, and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler says the agency should act on behalf of consumers in such disputes. The agency is asking for comments on proposed ground rules during contract negotiations.

The FCC did not propose a ban on blackouts, but its order asked whether "causing consumers harm to enhance negotiating leverage" should be a factor as it considers whether negotiating tactics are fair.

Restrictions would come at a bad time for broadcasters. Their advertising growth has been slow as viewers turn to online video and other Web uses, so they rely increasingly on fees that subscription-TV providers pay for their content. That income represented 1 percent of TV station revenue in 2006, but is projected to climb to 25 percent by 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Disputes have triggered 145 blackouts in 2015, compared with 107 last year and 127 in 2013, according to the American Television Alliance, an advocacy group that represents cable and satellite companies. TVfreedom, which represents broadcasters, offers a different count, saying this year has seen 14 impasses that resulted in program disruptions, compared with 13 last year and 22 in 2013.

The National Association of Broadcasters, with members including CBS, NBC, Fox, and ABC, said "nothing in this proceeding will necessarily translate to lower cable prices for consumers."

CBS, whose stable of popular shows ranges from NCIS to The Amazing Race and The Good Wife, has led the way in extracting fees from cable, satellite, and phone companies to pay for traditionally free broadcast TV. It is expected to receive $1.4 billion in affiliate transmission fees in 2015, followed by Fox at $1.24 billion.

"We have the most-watched programming there is anywhere, and we will get paid the appropriate amount for it," CBS chief executive officer Leslie Moonves said Aug. 5 on an earnings call.

Shannon Jacobs, a CBS spokeswoman, declined to comment.