Feud between wireless companies and broadcasters turns ugly

The rivalry between television broadcasters and wireless companies has turned ugly in the past day with the wireless companies calling broadcast television a dying industry and the broadcasters accusing the wireless companies of diminishing racial diversity.

The spat began when CTIA, an association that represents wireless carriers such as AT&T and Verizon, released a statement slamming the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) on the same day the group launched a new coalition to protect the future of broadcast television.

“When you have to form a coalition to talk about your future, perhaps it suggests you don’t have one,” said Jot Carpenter, CTIA's vice president of government affairs. NAB did not appreciate CTIA trying to spoil the launch of its new group. "Sometimes statements get made inside the Beltway that are so shockingly arrogant that one has to step back and ask: Really?" wrote Dennis Wharton, NAB's vice president of communications.