business

PHILADELPHIA - A coalition of big pay-TV companies and public-interest groups are asking the Federal Communications Commission to consider new rules that would prevent the television networks from blacking out shows and news during contract disputes over retransmission fees.

Comcast Corp., the nation's largest cable operator, which is seeking to purchase NBC Universal Inc., did not join the coalition. If the deal is completed, Comcast may seek those very fees for NBC stations.

The petition was filed Tuesday evening, two days after Walt Disney Co. blacked out its ABC-TV network programming in New York for 20 hours on Cablevision Systems Corp.

Disney chose last weekend to pull the ABC signal because of its Sunday night Academy Awards broadcast. The decision added a new category of drama to the ceremony: Would Cablevision customers in New York get to see the Oscars at all? Cablevision and Disney reached an agreement and -- 13 minutes into the event -- the Oscars broadcast flickered onto the screens of Cablevision customers.

Blacking out signals is a powerful bargaining tool, and broadcasters say they have successfully negotiated thousands of retransmission agreements without resorting to them.

Dennis Wharton, executive vice president for the National Association of Broadcasters, said Wednesday that it was "really hypocritical and not credible" for cable companies to profess a concern for consumers after hiking rates faster than the rate of inflation for years.

"Modest compensation from cable and pay-TV monopolies is not an unreasonable request," Wharton said of retransmission fees.

Maureen Huff, spokeswoman for Time Warner Cable, said that consumers are being "held hostage" by the broadcasters, and that the FCC's retransmission rules need to be modernized. The petition calls for arbitration to settle disputes, as well as not blocking signals during negotiations.

Time Warner, the nation's second-largest cable company, led the coalition seeking new rules. Late last year, it ran into a dispute over fees with News Corp., which owns the Fox cable and broadcast-TV properties.

Broadcast networks have been seeking retransmission fees from pay-TV companies to supplement advertising revenue. The fees could be about 50 cents per subscriber, industry sources say.