A group of Democratic senators are asking the FCC to explore applying cable and broadcast regulations to streaming outlets in order to ensure local stations are not left behind by the new platforms. In a letter to the five FCC commissioners, 20 lawmakers express “concern for the future of the media market and our constituents’ ability to access broadcasters’ unique locally-focused content on streaming platforms” such as “virtual MVPDs” — services like Sling TV, Verizon FiOS and Hulu that aggregate linear channels on the Internet. The issue has gained attention due largely to the trend toward cord-cutting.

“If the FCC agrees to change the rules, it would force YouTube TV, Hulu, Fubo, and more to strike deals directly with the owners of local TV station owners instead of the big networks,” writes Cord Cutters News.

Referencing “a monumental shift in the marketplace and the way people access video content,” the senators’ letter alludes to the fact that the FCC’s 1992 cable TV retransmission consent rules required direct negotiation with local stations for compensation allowing permission to include them on a broadband lineup.

Now, more than 30 years later, the dynamic seems to have flipped, and the concern seems to be that local broadcast stations may be left off streaming lineups, which did not exist when the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act was enacted.

In 2014 the FCC “initiated a proceeding to evaluate the potential modernization of the definition of MVPD to include streaming platforms that offer linear multichannel programming,” the senators point out, noting that 32-year-old rules have yet to be updated to encompass virtual MVPDs.

“In light of these marketplace changes, we urge the Commission to examine the video marketplace and seriously consider how it can ensure the viability of local broadcast stations and promote localism,” writes the senate contingent, led by Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico), Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).

Deadline points out that “the National Association of Broadcasters has been pushing” to restart a regulatory update. “Though the television marketplace has changed dramatically in recent years, viewers still expect and deserve access to their local TV news stations — no matter the platform,” NAB president and CEO Curtis LeGeyt said in a statement.

Deadline indicates FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency is reviewing the letter.

Twenty senators want to turn VMVPDs “into cable TV companies,” is how Cord Cutters News couches it. Cord-cutting has “shaved the pay-TV bundle from 100 million U.S. homes a decade ago to less than 70 million,” according to Deadline.