FCC Proposes $150,000 Fine Against Nexstar's Sidecar Company

The FCC Media Bureau proposed a $150,000 forfeiture for Mission Broadcasting over violations of the good faith retransmission negotiation rules.

Mission is the sidecar company of Nexstar.

The violations stem from Nexstar's negotiations on Mission's behalf with Comcast for retransmission consent rights for Mission's station WPIX New York.

Nexstar allegedly conditioned retrans consent on Comcast's acceptance of contract proposals that "would foreclose the filing of future complaints with the Commission" which the FCC said is "inconsistent with competitive marketplace considerations."

The NAL also contains a footnote that appears to leave room for future enforcement actions involving Mission and Nexstar's relationship.

The Comcast complaint that led to the NAL "alleges additional good faith negotiation violations against both Mission and Nexstar Media Group, but in this NAL "we address only a subset," the footnote says. "The remaining allegations are under review by the Commission pending the outcome of ongoing investigations.

Nexstar and Mission didn't immediately comment,Comcast said it was pleased by the FCC's actions.