Cable lobby groups say they will sue the FCC to block its repeal of the rule capping how many broadcast TV stations a single company can own.
The cable groups, which represent Comcast, Charter, and other major providers, notified the FCC of their intent to challenge the repeal of the National Television Ownership Rule. Their argument: without the cap, large broadcast station groups gain leverage to demand higher retransmission fees from cable and satellite providers. Those costs, the groups say, get passed straight to subscribers as higher monthly bills. In their notice, the groups called the FCC's repeal order arbitrary and capricious for ignoring the harms that would follow from letting broadcasters exceed the national cap.
The bigger story here is two industries blaming each other for the same playbook. Cable providers warning about consolidation leverage is a little rich coming from an industry that just finished consolidating itself. Charter closed its purchase of Cox in August, over objections from advocacy groups who warned it would hand the biggest cable companies unchecked gatekeeper power and more room to raise prices.
Both sides are right that concentration raises bills. They just disagree on whose concentration counts.