Signal Fall 2017 Newsletter

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Alliance Communications explains
the challenges and offers options
Local NetworksWant to
Increase Your Cable TV Bill
As fall approaches, I want to call
attention to something that will
likely cause pocketbook pain
when snow hits the ground.
What is Retransmission Consent?
Every three years, the 1992 Cable TV Act
requires cable and satellite companies to
receive permission from local broadcasters
to retransmit their signals to customers. We
want to provide you with advanced notice
that in a few months, Alliance Communi-
cations will be negotiating with four local
broadcasters (KELO-CBS, KSFY-ABC,
KCAU-ABC and KDLT-NBC) over the
future cost of retransmission fees.
Customers in South Dakota and Min-
nesota already pay $11.21/month in
retransmission fees for their local chan-
nels, while those in Iowa pay $12.51/
month. If history repeats itself and
industry analysts’ predictions are cor-
rect, broadcasters will be asking you to
pay even more. Frankly, we think you
already pay WAY too much for these
channels, which are available for free
over the airwaves.
Who Owns KELO, KSFY,
KCAU and KDLT?
Large media companies own the local
channels. Nexstar Media Group, which
owns KELO-CBS and KCAU-ABC,
operates 170 stations across the county,
reaches 38.7 percent of U.S. households,
and is estimated to earn $2.3+ billion in
pro-forma revenue. Gray Media, based in
Atlanta, Ga., owns KSFY-ABC and Red
River Broadcasting in Fargo, N.D., owns
KDLT-NBC. While retransmission revenue
should be used to improve local content,
those dollars often go back to the parent
company and their stockholders.
Why Do I Have to Pay for
Channels That I Can Get for
FreeWith an Antenna?
TV stations use the public's airwaves,
which they get at NO cost through the
federal government as a gift from taxpay-
ers like you. Anyone with an HD antenna
can pull in local channels for free if they’re
within range of the broadcast tower.
To earn goodwill from viewers in 2015,
KELO promoted free TV by giving away
By Ross Petrick,
General Manager