NRBTV, Entertainment Studios/NAAAOM Oppose Charter/TWC/BHN

carriage on U.S. cable systems would likely get worse under a New Charter regime, as it will "only embolden and exacerbate the silence" of multichannel video programming distributors, leaving nonbroadcaster programmers like it "out of the carriage landscape even longer." If the FCC does approve Charter/TWC/BHN, the religious programmer said, it should be predicated on the condition that New Charter set aside 4 percent to 7 percent of its capacity for educational, noncommercial channels and that it can charge programmers of such channels only "the reasonable costs of signal delivery." In a separate filing Monday in the docket, Adam Swart -- founder of Crowds on Demand, a rent-a-crowd firm -- said he met with a variety of FCC officials including aides to all commissioners, and with Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake and Owen Kendler, who is overseeing the Charter review team, on behalf of Entertainment Studios and NAAAOM. Swart said that while the deals should be rejected "given Charter's history of racial discrimination," any FCC approval should be conditioned on "a substantial portion" of New Charter's programming budget being spent on wholly African-American owned content. Entertainment Studios and NAAAOM also have sued Charter alleging it racially discriminates against African-American-owned media companies by withholding carriage (see 1601280063). Charter, in response to the Entertainment Studios/NAAAOM opposition, said in a statement that Entertainment Studios founder Byron Allen's "history of frivolous claims speaks for itself." Charter also said it "is committed to expanding diversity and inclusion throughout the company as reflected in the memorandum of understanding we signed with leading national civic organizations representing communities of color [(see 1601150017)] and recognized by members of the Congressional Black Caucus in their recent letter to the FCC. Our commitments will enhance diversity in corporate governance, including on our board of directors, employment, suppliers, community investment and in the programming we carry. We look forward to obtaining approval for our pending transactions and serving all consumers in the communities we will operate in.” The company meanwhile is continuing its own lobbying before the FCC. In a filing Monday in the docket, Charter said it recapped a meeting with Commissioner Mignon Clyburn's chief of staff, David Grossman, at which the cable company said it talked up how its low-income broadband service carries substantial public interest benefits and that it will be rolled out six months after the closing of the deal.