D.C. Memo: Newsmax CEO Ruddy Wants FCC MFN/ADM Bans to Apply to Google, Disney

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Newsmax: Conservative icon Christopher Ruddy and Democratic FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel agree on one thing: Cable and satellite TV providers should not impose Most Favored Nation (MFN) and unreasonable Alternative Distribution Method (ADM) conditions on independent programmers. MFNs guarantee MVPDs the best per-subscriber rate and ADMs can restrict programmers from signing deals with streamers. Ruddy, CEO of the Newsmax cable news channel launched in 2014, sent a letter to the FCC Monday saying if the FCC goes ahead with final rules, they need to include Google’s YouTube TV and Disney’s Hulu + Live TV. “The Internet is not a regulatory ‘get out of jail free’ card that allows a similarly-situated service to escape the jurisdiction of the FCC simply because it is transmitted via internet protocol,” Ruddy said. “YouTube TV is already the fourth largest pay-TV distributor and is forecast to become the largest pay-TV provider by 2026." Actually, Ruddy said the FCC should ban “unconditional” MFNs because some MFNs can actually help independent programmers. “Unfortunately, while the [FCC’s proposed regulation] before us here does recognize a difference between conditional and unconditional MFNs, it barrels forward towards prohibiting both,” Ruddy said.