New Year, Same Cox Media Group: American Television Alliance Denounces Cox’s “Corporate Ransom” After Weeks of TV Blackouts Impacting Verizon Customers

Cox Media Group’s Greed-Driven Scheme Denies Viewers Essential News, Sports, Weather and Entertainment Programming During Holiday Season

For Immediate Release
January 6, 2025
Contact: Hunter Wilson
Email: [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Television Alliance (ATVA) released a statement condemning Cox Media Group for its shameless corporate ransom after deliberately removing stations from Verizon programming lineups. After more than three weeks of an avoidable TV blackout, Cox Media Group continues to keep pay-TV viewers across three markets in the dark to squeeze higher fees out of a captive audience. This manufactured crisis – driven entirely by broadcaster greed – has unleashed a TV blackout at one of the busiest times of year for live sports and local news, blocking access to free over-the-air content for Verizon customers in an effort to extract exorbitant retransmission consent fee hikes.

“At every turn, Cox Media Group has chosen reckless brinksmanship over negotiating a fair deal to keep television programming available throughout the holiday season – blocking broadcast signals and holding thousands of TV screens in Boston, Providence and Pittsburgh hostage to demand delusional retransmission consent fee hikes that leave viewers paying more for the same local programming,” said ATVA spokesman Hunter Wilson. “This predatory TV blackout is an act of shameless corporate ransom. Cox continually and gleefully sacrifices consumers for outsized profits while families stare at black screens instead of cheering on their favorite sports teams, catching local news and weather updates or watching holiday programming. This TV blackout is yet another example of broadcasters’ ‘profits over people’ approach, leveraging disruption to pad their bottom line at the expense of American consumers.”

Broadcasters have levied more than 2,400 TV blackouts and increased retransmission consent fees by an overwhelming 2,000 percent since 2010. Cox Media Group’s TV blackout continues to impact Verizon customers in Boston, Mass. and Providence, R.I. (WFXT channels FOX, Charge! and Laff), as well as Pittsburgh, Pa. (WPXI channels NBC, MeTV, Laff and Pittsburgh Cable News Channel), disrupting their access to regular programs, news and sporting events they care about, including NFL matchups, NBA games and college basketball.

Since December 15, Verizon Fios viewers in key markets have been deprived of must-watch sporting events, including the highly anticipated Patriots-Jets NFL clash and last weekend’s high-stakes Steelers-Ravens de facto playoff showdown, leaving thousands of fans furious at Cox Media Group’s blackout tactics. Viewers in impacted areas can still access programming through over-the-air antennas or streaming services.

For decades, broadcasters have been charging cable and satellite providers and their customers to access local stations, often forcing the removal of channels from TV lineups and blacking out content until TV providers agree to pay more. When blackouts finally end, consumers get their programming back, often at a higher cost. American consumers continue to pay the price for outdated regulations, allowing broadcasters to continuously weaponize TV blackouts, deliberately targeting live sports and other must-see TV.

ATVA stands ready to work with Congress to modernize dated regulations that turn sizable profits for broadcasters at the expense of consumers. To learn more about outdated broadcast regulations and their impact on the American consumer, visit https://americantelevisionalliance.org/about-the-issue/.