Imagicomm is the latest broadcaster to demand unreasonable price increases during a retransmission negotiation with Verizon – and they may remove customers’ favorite TV channels from their cable lineup.

Verizon subscribers in the Syracuse area could face missing channels in the coming days due to demands for unreasonable fees by Imagicomm’s corporate executives.

Imagicomm is using its control of broadcast programming to force Verizon – and, therefore, consumers – to pay higher fees. They may resort to removing the FOX and MyNet channels in Syracuse if their demands for higher fees are not met.

For nearly two decades, broadcasters like Imagicomm have been charging cable and satellite providers – and their customers – unreasonably high fees to access local stations. Broadcasters often remove their channels from consumers until TV providers agree to pay more – even though the same channels are available for free over the air. Over the last decade, consumers across the nation have faced more than 1,500 broadcast TV blackouts; all while broadcasters have collected billions in retransmission fees.

It’s time for our leaders in Congress and the FCC to protect consumers by holding them – and other broadcasters who frequently use this tactic – accountable.