Consumers should not be held hostage when retransmission disputes...
Consumers should not be held hostage when retransmission disputes break down, said Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., ranking member of the House Communications Subcommittee. Unfortunately, programming blackouts “have become far too common for consumers who simply want to enjoy the programming…
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they pay for each month,” she said in a statement about the blackout of CBS stations for Time Warner Cable subscribers (CD Aug 6 p2). She urged the companies to reach a resolution. “I also intend to carefully examine whether changes to current law are needed to adequately protect consumers and prevent the reoccurrence of blackouts,” said Eshoo. CBS CEO Leslie Moonves said TWC is “grandstanding” in handling the dispute. TWC’s proposal to purchase CBS programming a la carte is “nothing more than an attempt to muddy the water and confuse the public discussion,” he said in response to a letter from TWC CEO Glenn Britt. TWC is asking “either to gain the right to deliver content for free that others are paying for, or to inhibit CBS from licensing content to existing online competitors and new companies that are now emerging,” Moonves said. Britt urged Moonves to stop blocking CBS.com content from TWC’s Internet customers (http://bit.ly/13fBLgB).