TV’s Shrinking World Pits Networks Against Stations in Fee Fight
Networks have sought to shorten the length of their contracts with local stations, which typically run from two to five years.
Photographer: aphrodite74/Getty ImagesFederal Communications Commission member Brendan Carr fired a broadside at Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger this month, urging him to reach more economical contract terms with local TV stations affiliated with the company’s ABC network.
Carr, who has been nominated to be chairman of the FCC by President-elect Donald Trump, accused ABC of trying to “siphon more and more money away from local broadcast TV stations” even as Disney shifts marquee programming to its streaming services. The loss of revenue may hurt local news coverage at a time when Americans’ trust of the media is at a low, Carr wrote in a Dec. 21 letter.