Talking TV: Coalition For Local News Raises Its Hand For A Rule Change

Many local TV stations have reached the limit of their patience with the FCC over what they see as dramatically outmoded rules on negotiating with vMVPDs directly. Namely, they still can’t do so, and must defer to the networks, whose favored outcomes in such talks don’t exactly align with their affiliates.

Tired of having a passive role and without the NAB to take up their cause, a group representing over 600 stations has formed the Coalition for Local News to more vociferously advocate for themselves. Tanya Vea, president and COO of Bonneville International (owner of Salt Lake City’s KSL), is one of the group’s spokespeople.

In this Talking TV conversation, Vea explains why the time has come for TV stations to stand up for their rights to negotiate with vMVPDs and how the ability to do so will have a direct impact on local news operations. She voices the industry’s deep frustrations with the FCC’s long inaction on regulation reform, and she explains where direct lobbying may or may not play a role for the coalition.

Episode transcript below, edited for clarity.

Michael Depp: The Coalition for Local News is a newly formed advocacy group representing over 600 local TV stations across the U.S. Its goal is reforming regulations it feels needs to be modernized, namely, the current FCC rule that requires cable and satellite providers, but not streaming services to negotiate directly with local stations for carriage.

Basically, local TV stations and groups can’t negotiate directly with the vMVPDs, and they argue this is hampering their ability to sustain their investments in local news. The FCC has been supposedly reviewing this issue since it solicited public comment back in 2014, but it has been crickets from the commission since.

I’m Michael Depp, editor of TVNewsCheck, and this is Talking TV. Today, a conversation with Tanya Vea, the president and COO of Bonneville International, parent company of Salt Lake City’s KSL. She’s one of the spokespeople for the Coalition for Local News. We’ll talk about the group’s objectives, its headwinds and its chances for getting what it wants.

Welcome, Tanya Vea, to Talking TV.

Tanya Vea: Thank you, Michael. How are you?

I’m well, thank you. Tanya, why was it necessary to form this coalition for local news right now? Is there an urgency here?

I think the urgency is what we’re all facing. It’s no secret that broadcasters, both large and small, are facing significant headwinds in a very rapidly changing media landscape. So, as we look at that, that’s putting pressure downward on our newsroom and our ability to serve our local communities, which is our highest priority. And it’s there’s a real threat for local news across the country.

Well, from the coalition’s name alone, it seems that you’re framing this need to negotiate directly with the vMVPDs as almost existential to maintaining local TV news operations. Do I have that right?

I think it’s very important if you look at the business of being able to just sustain local news, it’s critically important that we’re able to negotiate fairly on our own behalf and to use our content. If you think about how we do content distribution, there are stations all across the country that are delivering newscasts, whether that’s a 6 a.m. or a 6 p.m. in the exact same format, just through different distribution models, through linear television or streaming television. Our content is the same, but we’re not able to negotiate in the same ways.

Now, normally the NAB would have your back as the industry’s lobbyist organization, but they can’t do that here, can they? Do you want to explain why?

I certainly cannot speak on behalf of the NAB, and don’t speak on behalf of the NAB. I’m a brand-new board member, but I haven’t even been to a single board meeting. So, I’m not here in that capacity in any way. The NAB is one of the most powerful lobbying organizations and certainly carries the water for broadcasters across the country. So, we’re not at odds with the NAB in this. They’ve come out publicly in support of refreshing the record. And I think this is just we’re advocating on behalf of a specific issue and really specifically on local news. How do we how do we protect our investments as local broadcasters and our ability to produce the highest quality of local news day in and day out?

The coalition represents more than 600 U.S. TV stations. Are any of those stations owned and operated by the networks?

No. These are represented by the four affiliate associations.

The press release announcing the coalition said that it will be “involved in an array of advocacy efforts.” Can you spell out more specifically what those will be?

The advocacy is really for right now focused on the vMVPD and MVPD. That doesn’t mean that it will remain as that as the only issue. What this new coalition is, is really focused on is how do you protect local news interests? And you’re seeing the four affiliate associations come together in that in that effort.

So, who’s in charge of this? Do you have a point person on lobbying?

It’s an advocacy effort. We’re looking at this more for advocacy and awareness, really building awareness for our own interests and what’s in the best interest for local broadcasters on the affiliate side.

Are you going to hire a lobbyist, though? Is that in the works?

That’s certainly beyond my scope of how I’m involved in this and no, as far as I’m aware. I don’t have awareness of that.

For being an awareness/advocacy group, how does that translate into what sort of concrete things you’d be doing to that end?

I think that you’ve seen there’s a new website that’s been launched. You’re seeing interviews. This one right now that I’m doing. There are several other people who are making themselves available to talk about the importance of this issue across our industry.

Do you have any other immediate goals other than getting the green light to negotiate directly with the vMVPDs?

I think our first and foremost goal is being able to strengthen our ability to produce high-quality local news in our markets. But to do that, again, this is a business. We’re all in the business of business. And each of us have different ways of going about that. But what we’re asking for is really fairness in how we’re able to negotiate really a substantial part of our revenues. These are these are critical parts of our business. This is not an insignificant part of our business.

Again, as I mentioned at the top, the FCC has been dead silent on this issue since 2014. And, you know, recently it put the kibosh on the Tegna/Standard General deal, and it does not, in its current incarnation, seem to be especially leaned into broadcasters’ entreaties. How do you change that dynamic with Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel?

It’s part of what this effort is, really being able to speak, speak with a louder voice and maybe a more unified voice on behalf of stations all across the country who every single day are putting our best foot forward. And you know, what I would say is we’ve been under enormous pressure as businesses. You’ve just done this in the last couple of weeks, a survey on news burnout. So, it’s a very real issue. You’re facing the aftermath of a pandemic social unrest. You’re in newsrooms that are under pressure financially. All of those things that we’re dealing with in our local markets on a day-to-day basis, we’re evolving our businesses and day in and day out, we’re working to evolve our businesses to keep up with the speed at which technology is moving. All we’re asking is the FCC to do the same thing they were just looking at. How do you evolve? How do regulations evolve in the same way that we’re being forced to evolve our business?

Are you hoping to get a meeting with the chairwoman as the coalition?

I think we’re hoping that they will just take up the issue. What we would really hope is that they would be open to refreshing the record. And I don’t think that that’s a big ask.

To that end, do you have any champions at the FCC or on the Hill who can help push this rock along?

I think Sen. [Maria] Cantwell [D-Wash.] has already sent a letter asking for this. Sen. [Chuck] Grassley [R-Iowa] has also been an advocate for asking for support for local stations. So, yes, I think there’s definitely people who are hearing the message that’s being sent.

Are you hoping to pick up more vocal support along the way on those lines?

Yes, of course.

What are the next immediate steps for the coalition?

Right now, it’s just awareness. It’s really just raising awareness of the issues that are facing our newsrooms, the issues that are facing our business, asking for an even playing field, some fairness in the rules. It really shouldn’t be as complicated as it as it feels.

And really, I’d rather be focused on how are we driving the best content for our market and what are we doing as far as building and investing in new technologies as opposed to looking at roadblocks being put up by the FCC or by Congress that are just based on outdated rules. I’m not arguing that there isn’t a need for some regulation, but they are not keeping up with the pace that things are changing in our in our industry.

And not sharing your sense of urgency. It would seem so far by the track record of this particular FCC. Well, this is obviously something that the industry has been asking for a while and not getting an answer. So, let’s see how this works out. Tanya Vea, thank you for being here to talk about the Coalition for Local News. Appreciate it.

Thank you, Michael.

You can watch past episodes of Talking TV on TVNewsCheck.com and on our YouTube channel. You can also listen in most places where you get your podcasts, and you can check in again next Friday for a new episode. Thanks for watching this one and see you next time.