ATVA Statement on Hearst Television Inc. Blackout

WASHINGTON D.C.  April 8, 2014 — Following Hearst’s blackout of DISH Network subscribers in 25 markets across the country, the American Television Alliance issued the following statement:

If broadcasters are truly serious about ending blackouts, now is their chance. All Hearst has to do is leave the signal up and consumers in 25 markets would not be blacked out right now. But clearly they are more interested in extracting huge profits from pay-TV consumers. Broadcasters are not, in fact, “always on.”