US: Christian TV urges FCC to deny merger of Charter, Time Warner

Christian television channel NRBTV recently filed comments with the FCC in opposition to the proposed merger of Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable, and Advance/Newhouse Partnership.

Such a merger, NRBTV stated, “will severely harm the dissemination of educational television to the public, depriving consumers of countless independent voices that they might otherwise not hear.”

More specifically, non-commercial educational programmers seeking carriage will suffer because the merged entity will collectively control a large share of cable systems nationwide and that increased marketplace dominance will give it even less incentive to carry these kinds of channels. Ultimately, NRBTV noted, there will be fewer alternatives for educational channels to turn to due to capacity issues or cost. Educational programmers, and the public they serve, will ultimately lose in this scenario.

The Merger will further marginalize NCE programmers, and create new barriers to delivering such programming via cable systems,” the channel insisted.

Full content: Christian Newswire

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