Low Power TV Broadcasters Highlight Diversity in Call for Cable Carriage

As Congress examines renewing legislation that mandates satellite carriage of over-the-air broadcasts, owners of low power television stations say record levels of cable and satellite subscribership necessitate their inclusion in any retransmission consent regime to promote public safety, ensure a supply of local programming and promote ownership diversity. Eighty-five percent of Americans receive television programming by way of cable or satellite, Community Broadcasters Association president Kyle Reeves told President Obama in a letter sent to the White House last weekend. Many young people have never seen a pair of rabbit ears, Reeves wrote. Instead, they increasingly choose to access video programming over broadband, cable, or satellite connections. Reeves said this change means public interest groups that fought against allowing one entity to own multiple television stations in a market picked the wrong battle."The true issue that impacts the diversity of ideas available to the public...is access to distribution systems," he said.