Broadcasters: Senate TV plan would cripple emergency alerts, journalism

Broadcasters are warning that a Senate plan to change the way people pay for TV channels could have dire consequences for viewers.

The 50 state broadcaster associations have prepared a letter to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Sen John Thune (R-SD), warning that their Local Choice plan will “destroy” the idea of giving consumers local content. That would make it harder for people to find out information about emergencies, get weather reports and watch local news, and would hurt diversity, the state organizations wrote.

In their letter, the organizations wrote that they "oppose this proposal because of its likely devastating impacts on broadcast localism and the nation’s viewers."