Charter Should Be Required To Carry Independent Networks and News Services, Herring Networks Says
Charter Communications should be forced to widely carry at least three independent, unaffiliated news services and any independent network that already has a national footprint and carriage on some rival multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), Herring Networks President Charles Herring…
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said on a phone call with FCC staff, according to an FCC filing Friday in docket 15-149. The call was to discuss Herring's proposal (see 1602190062) for independent network-centric conditions for approval of Charter's buys of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable. According to Herring, New Charter should need to certify within a year of the deals' close that those three news services are available to at least 75 percent of its subscribers on service tiers that are at least as widely subscribed to as tiers on which TWC-affiliated news services are carried. Herring also said that "to correct past harms and minimize concerns of discriminatory, anti competitive and retaliatory behavior," New Charter should be required to carry any national, 24/7 indie programmer with no common ownership with an MVPD or broadcaster that already is carried in at least 5 million U.S. homes and on at least two of its bigger MVPD rivals, those being AT&T U-verse, DirecTV, Dish Network or Verizon Fios. If the indie network meets those terms, Herring said, it should get carriage for 10 years across all Charter systems at the same terms and conditions as the largest launched MVPD. Though seeking conditions, Herring previously has backed the Charter/TWC/BHN transaction. In a statement Monday, Charter said it "is committed to providing its customers access to diverse and independent programming and we carry more than 100 minority focused networks and offer more Spanish language programming than any other major provider. We appreciate the support for New Charter by numerous independent programmers including TV One, Baby First, RFD-TV, One World Sports, Fuse Media, Ovation, Inspire, AXS TV, The Blaze, Condista, Bounce TV, Crown Media, and Reelz.”