Comcast and Standard General have struck an agreement confirming Standard General's pledge to the FCC that it would agree not to raise the retransmission consent rates of Tegna stations charged to MVPDs to that of its Cox Media Group TV stations — if applicable — after the closing of its deal to buy those Tegna stations.
That is according to Standard General, which said the agreement on not raising the rates was reached this week with Comcast, which is the largest cable group carrying Tegna stations.
"Standard General welcomes this agreement and looks forward to continue working with its MVPD partners and other stakeholders in building a bright, secure future for local broadcasting in America," the company said. "As previously announced on Dec. 16, 2022, Standard General unilaterally waived certain retransmission consent rights applicable to the Tegna stations that Standard General will control post-closing, giving certain MVPDs the ability to accept or decline the waiver, thereby ensuring that Tegna’s retransmission consent agreements (RCA) will apply to those stations. I’ve attached this letter for reference."
On December 16, Standard General told the FCC that it would not try to apply retransmission consent agreements currently in place between Standard General's Cox Media Group TV stations and Tegna stations (so-called "after-acquired clauses"). MVPD critics have pointed to the potential of those clauses meaning they would have to start shelling out more for Tegna stations.
Then on December 22, Standard General told the FCC that, to address concerns about newsroom cutbacks, concerns Standard General has said were unfounded, it would pledge "not to conduct any journalism or newsroom staffing layoffs" for at least two years and would recognize the labor unions with current collective bargaining agreements with Tegna.
Then on December 23, Standard General, which was clearly hoping to get the FCC to make a decision ASAP after months of vetting, said it would agree to all of the retransmission consent-related conditions that NCTA-the Internet & Television Association had wanted for as long as it owned Tegna.
Also: FCC Won't Complete Vetting Standard General-Tegna Deal This Year
While the company was clearly hoping that might spur the FCC to complete its review ASAP given that the commission is on day 252 of its informal 180-day shot clock on merger reviews, the FCC instead put out those waiver and other pledges for comment until early next year.
Tegna, which owns 64 TV stations in 51 U.S. markets, agreed to be acquired by Standard General in February for $8.6 billion including debt. It also owns multicast networks True Crime Network, Twist and Quest and advanced-advertising company Premion. ■
