WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal regulators are seeking public comment on a petition by cable, satellite and phone companies that want new government rules to give them more clout in negotiations with TV broadcasters over programming.

Friday's move by the Federal Communications Commission follows a series of disputes over the fees that cable companies pay broadcasters to transmit their signals.

The most recent breakdown in negotiations caused Cablevision subscribers to miss the first 15 minutes of the Oscars when the ABC station in New York pulled its signal from the cable system.

Among the companies seeking new FCC rules are Cablevision Systems Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc., DirecTV Inc. and Dish Network Corp.