FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2014
TVfreedom.org Responds To Passage of Satellite Television Bill By U.S. Senate Commerce Committee
Organization Backs Preservation of Broadcasters on ‘Basic Tier,’ Salutes Sens. McCaskill and Markey For Highlighting Abuses of Pay-TV Industry
Washington, D.C. – TVfreedom.org – a coalition of local broadcasters, consumer and business groups, and community advocates – today voiced cautious optimism in response to the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee’s passage of the Satellite Television Access and Viewer Rights Act (STAVRA). TVfreedom.org coalition members also signaled that the lifeline basic service tier provision should be protected going forward in the interest of consumers, as part of congressional efforts to modernize the U.S. video marketplace. TVfreedom.org coalition members successfully advocated for the elimination of the proposed “Local Choice” components of the legislation backed by the pay-TV lobby.
The “Local Choice” provisions would have removed local broadcast stations from the basic tier, costing consumers considerably more money to access, diminishing diversity in programming and preventing local broadcasters from effectively competing with pay-TV providers for local advertising dollars.
“We are encouraged by the Senate Commerce Committee’s bipartisan effort to eliminate provisions that would have hurt the public interest and cost consumers considerably more on their monthly pay-TV bill. We now need a greater public dialogue about the future of the video marketplace, and how to best protect consumers from greedy pay-TV providers,” TVfreedom.org spokesman Robert C. Kenny said.
“In the days ahead, our 28-member broad-based coalition, will continue to engage lawmakers, policymakers, consumer advocacy groups and industry leaders to preserve the basic tier and protect consumers’ interests,” Kenny said.
“Our main concern with proposals like ‘Local Choice’ is that it will have a dramatic, negative effect on our agricultural community,”said Jack Alexander, President, Rural and Agriculture Council of America (RACA). “RACA is comprised of farmers, ranchers, main street business owners and local elected officials that have come to rely on local TV broadcasters as a trusted source for news, weather updates, and emergency information. Local broadcast programming is critical to helping us grow and sustain our local and regional economies. We urge Congress to keep rural interests in mind as it seeks to modernize the U.S. video marketplace in the coming year.”
“Proposals like ‘Local Choice’ negatively impact all consumers, but those who watch Spanish language television would be disproportionately affected by this unproven new business model,” said Gus West, President, The Hispanic Institute. “Because not all people can watch Spanish-language programming, Spanish speaking households would wind up paying a higher price per capita for this access than under the current pay-TV system. We hope these pay-TV sponsored provisions do not resurface in the next Congress.”
Kenny singled out for praise Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri), who, at today’s Senate Commerce Committee, announced her intention to continue seeking reforms of the abusive practices of the pay-TV industry. “Sen. McCaskill has clearly struck a cord with millions of Americans who are fed up with the egregious businesses practices of Big Pay-TV,” said Kenny. “For far too long, consumers have suffered from soaring rate hikes, shoddy service and outrageous early termination fees from cable and satellite TV companies. Going forward, we stand ready to work with Sen. McCaskill in fixing these pay-TV abuses on behalf of American consumers.”
Kenny also praised Sen. Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts) for introducing an amendment that would require the FCC to implement a new standard to preserve competition in the set-top box marketplace. “Consumers continue to be saddled with excessive rental fees and hidden charges that pay-TV companies use to nickel-and-dime subscribers to pad their bottom lines,” said Kenny. “Sen. Markey’s amendment is a step towards curbing the estimated $7 billion consumers are forced to pay every year in gratuitous set-top box leasing fees.”
To watch a TVfreedom.org video about why consumers’ monthly cable and satellite TV bills continue to increase, please click here.
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About Us
TVfreedom.org, is a coalition of local broadcasters, community advocates, network television affiliate associations, multicast networks, manufacturers and other independent broadcaster-related organizations committed to helping protect consumer interests, ensure emergency and weather related programming access, promote the value of broadcast-TV programming, and preserve a fair and free video marketplace.