Cable Company Alliance Complains 4 CBS Radio Stations Rejected Advocacy Ad

Ad Nixed?

A group of cable and satellite television operators say that four CBS RADIO stations rejected an ad they wanted to run advocating for a la carte sales of local broadcast stations to the public.

The AMERICAN TELEVISION ALLIANCE, which includes DIRECTV, DISH NETWORK, VERIZON, TIME WARNER CABLE, CHARTER, CENTURYLINK, and other cable carriers as well as the PARENTS TELEVISION COUNCIL and DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS, submitted the ad supporting the "local choice" proposal to News-Talk KMOX-A/ST. LOUIS, News-Talk WCCO-A/MINNEAPOLIS, News-Talk KXNT-A-F/LAS VEGAS, and News-Talk KDKA-A/PITTSBURGH, only to be turned down.

ATA spokesman BRIAN FREDERICK said, “CBS’s actions are certainly unethical and deserve the attention of Congress.  It’s definitely not in the public interest to cut off voices because CBS disagrees with them. Broadcasters are stifling debate the same way they stifle innovation.”

In the ad, ATA says, “Local choice will put an end to the back-and-forth negotiations between broadcasters and cable and satellite companies.  Instead, viewers can decide which local channels they want to pay for. Local choice will help update our TV laws to the 21st Century.”   The law, which would change the present retransmission consent structure and be included in the reauthorization of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act, was proposed by Sens. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-WV) and JOHN THUNE (R-SD).

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