NAB Says Old Rules Don’t Apply?
Washington, D.C. July 24, 2012 – The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) plans to testify today in a Senate hearing on “The Cable Act at 20″ that “if it ain’t broken don’t fix it.” Their spin begs a few questions:
* Do you think it’s broken for the tens of millions of viewers you cut off time and time again?
* Is it broken for the viewers you cut off 69 separate times this year?
* Does it need to be fixed for the millions who lost programming during severe weather?
* Is a 35 percent increase in blackouts in 2012 over 2011 an example of how it’s not broken?
* It’s a free market? How about all those negotiating benefits, rights and privileges you are given under the law?
Today the NAB plans to claim that just because retransmission consent rules are 20-years-old, that “does not demonstrate a problem.” How many industries ignore advances in technology, changes in the marketplace or needs of consumers? Apparently the broadcast industry does.
Broadcasters couldn’t care less about the public’s interest. They only want to exploit old rules to grow a profit.
We can’t imagine how broadcasters will attempt to talk their way out of this one.
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Media Contact: Shivonne Foster, 202-973-2930