Retransmission Agreements
December 6, 2011
Dear Valued Customer,
We wanted to make you aware of a potential situation that may dramatically affect your access to certain local broadcast channels. The situation involves retransmission consent fees, which refers to the money that cable companies, including Three River, pay to local broadcast affiliates for the right to transmit their signal. Local affiliates are the TV stations that broadcast network programming from ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, etc. The spectrum used to send the signal is provided to the affiliate at no cost by the Federal Communications Commission.
Our current retransmission rate agreements with many affiliates are set to expire and certain affiliates are asking for unprecedented increases in the fees to carry their programming. Many local affiliates are owned by large conglomerates who determine retransmission consent fees taking the decision making process out of the hands of the local affiliate.
Some affiliates are asking for increases of nearly 300 percent. While we expect negotiations to produce a more positive outcome than triple-digit increases, if these affiliates hold firm on such staggering increases it could result in the loss of these channels from our lineup or a significant rate increase for our customers.
Affiliates receive free government-issued spectrum to transmit their signal, even as they ask for higher retransmission consent rates. Three River has invested heavily in providing the necessary infrastructure to bring cable television services to your area. This includes laying and maintaining cable lines, investing in new technology as well as creating partnerships with other companies to deliver the strongest signal possible.
Substantial increases in retransmission and other programming fees have already caused other companies to exercise remedies such as shutting down the cable system, dropping the network channels or significantly raising rates. Three River is working to find a solution that will keep costs down for both us and our customers.
We will continue to keep customers up-to-date about this situation. If you would like to get the latest about this situation, please visit, www.threeriver.net/retransmission.
Sincerely,
Neil K. Classen
General Manager |
