The petition suggests that the FCC consider such remedies as binding arbitration to ensure that viewers would not lose their signals during the negotiations.

"Consumers are increasingly being put in the middle of disputes between programmers and distributors, including recurring threats of doing dark," Time Warner Cable said.

Swanni's Take:
This is what I've been asking for -- for more than a year. The FCC should mandate baseball-style binding arbitration in cases where the network and TV provider can't agree. Both sides would have to agree to accept whatever the arbitrator decided.

And during the negotiations, the signal would stay on the air.

Also see:
Consumer Reports: 'Best Buys' For HDTVs

10 Best-Selling Blu-ray Movies!

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