American Community Television (ACT) joined broadcaster group TVfreedom.org...
American Community Television (ACT) joined broadcaster group TVfreedom.org to advocate for the basic service tier, TVfreedom.org said in a new release Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1pXwrPl). ACT is concerned that “pay-TV-led legislative add-ons” to the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA) could…
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threaten public, educational and government (PEG) channels, the release said. ACT represents more than 5,000 PEG access channels, the release said. STELA add-ons could “erode competition in the U.S. video marketplace” and “ultimately hurt the long-term viability of PEG channels across the nation,” said ACT Executive Director Bunnie Riedel. TVfreedom.org also said it backs the Community Access Preservation Act (S-1789), which would preserve PEG access channels on the cable basic tier and prevent cable companies from charging local governments to transmit PEG channels. Cable companies are “attempting to skirt long-standing public interest obligations associated with the basic service tier and community-based programming despite the fact that effective competition has not been found in more than half of the local television markets across the country,” said TVfreedom.org.