CÁRDENAS, L.A. REPS, CALL FOR FCC MEDIATION TO GET DODGERS GAMES OUT OF A PICKLE
CÁRDENAS, L.A. REPS, CALL FOR FCC MEDIATION TO GET DODGERS GAMES OUT OF A PICKLE
(Washington, DC) -- U.S. Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-San Fernando Valley) today joined seven Los Angeles-area Representatives, calling on the Federal Communications Commission to begin mediating the ongoing dispute between television service providers and Time Warner Cable, with regard to local broadcast of Los Angeles Dodgers games.
The letter was cosigned by Reps. Roybal-Allard, Chu, Sherman, Lowenthal, Linda Sanchez, Hahn and Brownley
Time Warner Cable broadcasts Dodgers games on their local sports network, SportsNet LA. A breakdown in negotiations over carriage fees paid by providers including AT&T U-verse, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Mediacom, Suddenlink Communications and Verizon FIOS, and other issues has resulted in many Los Angeles residents not being able to watch Dodgers games.
“The tradition of the Los Angeles Dodgers accompanied by the iconic voice of Vin Scully remains a pastime that families across Los Angeles eagerly anticipate every baseball season,” said Cárdenas in the letter. “Unfortunately, we are at the midpoint in the season and thousands of baseball fans remain in the dark.
“This dispute not only affects the access of individual family homes, but also restaurants and bars throughout the area who may have long standing ties or access, to one provider and are now unable to meet the viewing demands of their customers.”
The letter also expressed concerns that precedent is being created for vertically-integrated companies to “hold consumers hostage” to unfair market dominance, and called on the FCC to mediate the dispute.
The full text of the letter is available here.
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