Charter Slams Cuomo, De Blasio Boycott of Cable Network NY1
New York politicians will reduce transparency by boycotting a local news network in solidarity with an ongoing strike against Charter Communications, the MVPD said Wednesday. Earlier this week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) reportedly said he’s skipping…
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his weekly segment on New York 1 (NY1) to protest the cable network’s parent Charter. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) applauded the boycott Wednesday, encouraging other officials to join. The New York Public Service Commission conditioned OK of Charter’s Time Warner Cable buy on “maintaining the skilled workforce and bringing high speed internet to unserved and underserved communities,” but the company failed to honor those commitments, Cuomo said. “Consumers must be made aware of the abuses of Charter Spectrum, which the network has conspicuously failed to report on any of its broadcasts. Consumer pressure will affect Charter's bottom line, which is obviously their only concern." Charter responded Wednesday that NY1’s local coverage makes it a “critical part of the political process” that Cuomo wants to avoid as he heads into November’s election. The boycott “accomplishes nothing except to deprive his constituents of the ability to better understand how their state works and create a smokescreen for him to avoid answering difficult questions about real issues,” the company said. “It is a shame to see NY1 used as a political prop, something its parent company has never done,” when “fewer and fewer objective local news outlets” are available. New York and Charter earlier referred to productive talks related to the PSC revoking OK of the TWC deal (see 1810100060">1810100060).