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Cablevision’s antitrust lawsuit filed against Viacom Tuesday could bring attention to industry practices...

Cablevision’s antitrust lawsuit filed against Viacom Tuesday could bring attention to industry practices that harm consumers, Public Knowledge said. Cablevision alleged that Viacom forced it to carry ancillary networks in order to obtain core networks (CD Feb 27 p11). “Many…

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subscribers may not realize that large media conglomerates such as Viacom often force cable companies to include unpopular channels in subscriber bundles and to pay for them,” PK said in a press release (http://bit.ly/1293T9O). Cable companies benefit from an uncompetitive market “that allows them to pass along costs to consumers and keep prices high,” it said. “Broadcasters also have rules that force cable subscribers to subsidize them.” The Parents Television Council asked other distributors to join with Cablevision, “and we call on the other conglomerate bundlers of cable programming ... to respond to market demand and finally give meaningful choices to cable consumers,” it said in a press release. “In a free marketplace, consumers -- not the programmers -- would be able to decide for themselves which cable networks they want to purchase.”