Where are the local news channels?
KIEM, KVIQ dropped by Suddenlink amid dispute with Cox
Redwood Television Partners channels KIEM-NBC and KVIQCBS are no longer available via Suddenlink’s channel lineups due to an ongoing dispute between Altice/Suddenlink and Cox Media Group.
On Friday, Suddenlink announced its decision to drop CMG TV stations from its channel lineup, affecting media markets in Eureka as well as Alexandria, Louisiana., Greenville-Greenwood, Missouri, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Memphis, Tenessee, and Spokane, Washington. Eureka’s media market covers Humboldt County, Del Norte County and reaches into Men
docino and Trinity counties.
Though CMG channels can still be found through other satellites, cable TV, over the air antenna or through a streaming provider, the decision to drop CMG channels has been highly criticized by media accessibility advocates.
Access Humboldt executive director Sean McLaughlin said the organization is “deeply concerned by the loss of local TV carriage over the local cable TV system” and fears for the “decline of our information ecosystem.”
“Our issue is when local information systems are not locally owned and there’s no voice or local participation, this is the kind of result we get,” McLaughlin said in an interview with the TimesStandard on Monday morning.
Part of Access Humboldt’s advocacy work concerns must- carry protections that historically ensured local cable systems would carry local broadcast TV stations, McLaughlin said.
“Under must-carry rules, local broadcast TV licensees are entitled to free carriage for their station on local cable TV systems,” McLaughlin said in a column published in the Times- Standard. “TV licensees, in this case Cox Media Group, must waive their right to free carriage in order to negotiate a price that they require the cable operator (Altice/Suddenlink) to pay them for the privilege of retransmission.”
The issue is Suddenlink and CMG officials place the blame on one another, McLaughlin said.
“If you follow the thread, CMG tells you to call put pressure on Suddenlink. However, if you follow the thread from Suddenlink, they tell you to put pressure on Congress,” McLaughlin said. “Of course, they’re both accusing each other because they’re in a negotiation, but they say that Suddenlink is anti- consumer. That is so ironic because essentially CMG has pulled their stations off of cable to jack up the price for cable subscribers.”
Responding to the TimesStandard’s request for comment, Suddenlink spokesperson Janet Meahan said Suddenlink “wants to continue to carry Cox Media Group’s networks but at a rate that is fair to our customers.”
“Despite being in the midst of a pandemic when access to affordable news is incredibly critical, Cox Media Group has pulled its channels from Suddenlink TV lineups in certain markets in an effort to extract an exorbitant increase in fees from us and our customers,” the statement said. “With so many households across the nation struggling, we call on Cox Media Group to stop holding our customers hostage, return the channels to our lineups, and focus on working with us to negotiate a new deal that is fair to our customers.”
Reached by phone on Monday afternoon, Redwood News TV general manager Jenny Olszewski said, “Locally, we would like to see a quick resolution.”
However, Olszewski referred the Times-Standard to a CMG press statement for more information.
“Our country continues to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic and, during these uncertain times, it is more important than ever that our viewers know their trusted local stations are there for them, providing the news and information they need to make decisions for their families,” said CMG executive vice president Paul Curran. “CMG stations take pride in being trusted and vital resources for our communities, and we will fight to continue to fulfill this responsibility.”
Part of the issue is that there is no funded role for the consumer advocate, McLaughlin said.
“The state doesn’t have a role, the Public Utilities Commission doesn’t have a role. It’s entirely a federal matter,” he said. “(Congressman Jared Huffman) has actually been working on one of the root causes, which is media consolidation. I think he is planning to reintroduce previous legislation in Congress.”
Huffman (D-San Rafael) introduced the Local and Independent Television Protection Act in 2019 which sought to protect local television markets across the country from corporate consolidation.
Huffman’s office did not return the Times- Standard’s request for additional information ahead of the publishing deadline.