FCC Backs DISH Network in Must Carry Dispute with Georgia TV Station, Nixing Rosenworcel-Era Precedent
Agency holds that a TV station may not elect DBS must carry in two Nielsen Designated Market Areas at the same time. Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez votes to overturn Rosenworcel’s Media Bureau
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Must Carry: The FCC ruled that a Georgia television station cannot claim satellite carriage rights throughout two media markets at once, setting aside a 2024 precedent established under Democratic FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. In a decision released Sept. 29, the three voting FCC Commissioners granted DISH Network’s appeal and reversed an earlier Media Bureau order involving WGBP‑TV. The station is licensed to Opelika, Ala., which is located inside the Columbus, Ga., Designated Market Area (DMA). The Nielsen Company later assigned WGBP to the Atlanta DMA following WGBP’s conversion to a distributed transmission system. The FCC said the law defines a station’s “local market” as a single Nielsen‑determined DMA plus the county where the station is licensed, which may be in a different DMA. “There is nothing in the statute that suggests that a station may demand carriage throughout more than one DMA simultaneously,” the order said. (More after paywall)
