| News Corporation’s Unfair Conduct is Holding Rural America Hostage |
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| Written by Aaron Lee | |
| Tuesday, 05 September 2006 | |
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Congress Should Investigate Whether the News Corporation’s Business Units are Acting in Violation of Anti-Trust Laws For Immediate Release Washington, D.C. – Frontiers of Freedom Institute, a public policy foundation dedicated to promoting free market principles and the ideals embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, today urged Congress to take immediate action to protect rural television consumers who could lose their distant network television signals by investigating the News Corporation’s efforts to derail a pro-consumer resolution to the long-running distant network channels dispute involving EchoStar and television broadcasters (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox). The possibility of a sudden signal loss to nearly one million consumers, many of whom live in rural America, exists because the News Corporation’s efforts to undermine a settlement agreement between EchoStar and the broadcasters. Fox, after pulling out of the settlement discussions last week and stating that it has no intention of rejoining negotiations with EchoStar, recently filed a motion with the Federal District Court in Miami relating to an earlier Court decision, requesting that the Court issue a nationwide, permanent injunction barring EchoStar from delivering any ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox distant network signals to nearly one million consumers. Fox’s action appears clearly designed to derail the settlement agreement that EchoStar entered into with the broadcast affiliates of ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX which would mean that those broadcaster groups would no longer receive $100 million dollars and nearly one million consumers would lose the distant network channels they depend on for critical news and emergency information. Such an aggressive legal filing does not make sense if Fox were legitimately concerned about retaining eyeballs in its own markets, rather than enabling its sister company, DirecTV, to benefit from an unfair monopoly. The fact that one News Corporation unit, the Fox Network, appears to be attempting to derail the settlement by inviting a Court injunction that would effectively create an unfair monopoly for another News Corporation unit, DirecTV, raises the question of whether the News Corporation’s actions are in violation of anti-trust laws. George Landrith, president of Frontiers of Freedom, made the following statement: “The News Corporation, by attempting to create an unfair monopoly for itself, is looking to hold rural America hostage and putting its profits before the interests of rural consumers. Seven of the eight broadcasters that have been parties to this matter signed agreements because it was in the best interest of consumers and represented a significant victory for the broadcasters. It appears clear for all to see that the reason the News Corporation’s Fox Network filed suit with the Court is so that the News Corporation’s DirecTV will have an unfair monopoly when it comes to offering consumers distant network channels – especially to consumers in rural America. “For rural Americans, it is a loss because there will be less competition in the subscription television market for rural consumers, which will lead to higher prices and inferior services. The News Corporation, by seeking to derail this agreement, is looking to compromise the free market system. “That is why Frontiers of Freedom Institute believes that Congress must protect consumers and investigate the News Corporation’s actions to derail the agreement and determine whether any anti-trust laws have been violated. At a time when cable companies are not rushing to string wires across miles of farms, mountains and ranches, and telephone carriers are selling off their rural exchanges, there must be vibrant competition among satellite TV companies in rural areas. Without at least two satellite companies offering similar services, such as distant network signals, many rural Americans will suffer the high prices and inferior customer services typical of monopolies. “The fact that concurrent with pulling out of the agreement and filing the motion with the Court, the News Corporation’s DirecTV put up ads in affected markets promoting the idea that consumers who could be losing their DISH Network distant signals should switch to DirecTV, raises serious questions about possible collusion between the News Corporation’s Fox Network and DirecTV. As the old saying goes, if you go to bed at night and there is no snow on the ground and you wake up in the morning and there is snow, you can safely conclude that it snowed. If the News Corporation’s Fox Network did not sign an agreement that all the other broadcasters signed on to and it is the News Corporation’s DirecTV that will benefit the most from a derailed agreement, you can safely conclude that the Fox Network is acting to help DirecTV profit from the creation of an unfair monopoly. “Congress must step in quickly and investigate whether the News Corporation is acting in violation of anti-trust laws in order to protect the interests of hundreds of thousands of rural consumers. Without quick Congressional action, the News Corporation could put itself in the position of holding nearly a million consumers hostage. One of the reasons this is so frustrating is that time and again rural consumers are treated unfairly, especially when it comes to their television viewing options. Now, hundreds of thousands of mostly rural Americans who have come to rely on distant network television signals will soon be deprived of these signals.” In 2004 Frontiers of Freedom Institute weighed in on the public policy debate over whether rural viewers should have access to distant network High Definition signals. At the time Frontiers of Freedom President Landrith said that “[o]ut West, many of the broadcasters are simply not providing the signal people need to get this [High Definition] service in their homes. ...[S]atellite providers ... can make HDTV a reality for rural Americans, immediately, not in years or decades ....” For more information: Aaron Lee (703) 246-0110 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Comments (0)
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