Signal Winter 2020 Newsletter

12 www.alliancecom.net Alliance Fights Outrageous Broadcast TV Rate Increase It’s as predictable as the sun rising every morning. Every three years we negotiate new retransmission rates with the local CBS, ABC and NBC affiliates. They ask for astronomical fee increases, while we fight for lower costs. We debate back and forth for several months. Then as the deadline approaches, we must either agree to their demands, or they threaten to remove their channels from our lineup as a negotiations tactic. If we keep the channels, customers’ overall prices increase a lot. If we remove some channels, customers’ bills will not increase as much. All TV providers must engage in this negotiations game with pro- grammers in order to retain content on their lineups. In the past, these negotiations occurred in private, and customers rarely knew they were taking place. But recently, they have become more public as broadcasters and TV networks leverage their size and legal loopholes to demand unreasonable fees. Even though market demand does not justify these increases, retransmission fees have ballooned over the past decade. For example, total fees from the local CBS, ABC, FOX and NBC affiliates were $.85 in 2010 and are $23.85 today. Last year alone, Alliance customers paid broadcast owners based in Georgia and Texas more than $1.4 million in retransmission fees. (Alliance kept $0.) Station owners have a right to ask for compensation, but we need agreements that are reasonable. So far this year they have presented all-or-nothing terms, demanded drastic rate increases, and added more terms on lesser-viewed channels to increase your costs. I want to be clear: We have tried to do something about esca- lating fees and outdated TV laws for many years, and so have Dish, AT&T and many others. Unfortunately, congressional legislation favors broadcasters. Laws from the 1990s enable their take-it-or-leave-it practices, and broadcasters empty your wallet and load your lineup with mediocre channels as a result. Watching the broadcasters behave with such disregard for consumers conflicts with our company values. Our goal is to provide services at affordable rates. For example, we recently reduced pricing on our fastest broadband speeds and added some channels to our TV lineup without increasing costs. Based on survey results and viewership data, we know that only 37 percent of our customers are willing to pay more to keep the same channels, 60 percent are willing to drop some channels, and the rest are undecided. This leaves us in a com- plicated position. Broadcasters prohibit cable TV customers from paying only for the channels they want to watch. They force their channels on all customers, which increases your bill and requires us to carry less popular channels. This all-or-nothing approach creates a financial windfall for them at your expense. We are on your side in the fight against outrageous fee increases. We are prepared to agree to fair rates, terms and conditions that By Ross Petrick, General Manager Tell us your opinion about the local broadcast channels. Take our survey. Visit alliancecom.net and scroll down to Latest News. Contract Expiration Deadlines Nexstar Media Group expires Nov. 30 Status: Ongoing KELO-CBS, MyUTV, Court TV Mysteries, KelolandWeather Now, KCAU-ABC (available in Iowa) Gray Television expires Dec. 31 Status: Ongoing KDLT-NBC, Antenna TV Gray Television expires Dec. 31 Status: Ongoing KSFY-ABC, CW, MeTV Quincy Media expires Dec. 31 Status: Agreement reached. These channels will remain on the lineup in Union and Sioux Counties. NBC-KTIV, CW, MeTV We’re working to keep your prices as low as possible