Big Broadcasters Blackout Christmas

A Wave of Broadcaster Blackouts set to Hit Families over the Holidays  

Washington, D.C. – The following statement can be attributed to ATVA national spokesman Trent Duffy:

“As families gather together this weekend to celebrate holiday traditions, big broadcasters have pulled the plug on tens of thousands of Pay-TV customers.  Broadcaster-initiated blackouts of local programming are underway in Baton Rouge, Tyler and Grand Junction and more are threatened in Seattle, Portland, Wilkes-Barre and New Orleans.  2016 is coming to a close just as it began, with a wave of broadcaster blackouts of innocent consumers.  This is even more evidence of why the FCC and Congress must act to reform a broken retransmission consent system.”

Broadcasters have pulled the plug on American consumers 102 times in 2016.  Network takedowns have spiked in recent years; in 2010 there were only eight black outs nationwide.

SNL Kagan predicts that retransmission-consent fees could nearly double in the next five years to $11.6 billion.  SNL Kagan predicts that stations will receive about $7.7 billion in retransmission consent fees in 2016, up about 20% from the $6.4 billion in 2015.

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The American Television Alliance (ATVA) brings together an unprecedented coalition of consumer groups, cable, satellite, telephone companies, and independent programmers to raise awareness about the risk TV viewers face as broadcasters increasingly threaten service disruptions that would deny viewers access to the programs they and their families enjoy.

For more information about ATVA, visit our website. Follow us on Twitter @ATVAlliance.