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| [February 27, 2013] |
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Mediacom Communications Issues Statement Regarding Cablevision's Federal Antitrust Lawsuit Against Viacom
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. --(Business Wire)--
Mediacom Communications Corporation today issued the following statement
regarding Cablevision's federal antitrust lawsuit against Viacom (News - Alert) for
illegally forcing Cablevision to carry and pay for 14 lesser-watched
ancillary networks in order to receive Viacom's must-have networks:
"We have not yet had an opportunity to review the complaint and so are
not in a position to comment on Cablevision's specific claims as they
relate to Viacom. However, we can say that tying practices of the owners
of the most popular cable channels are really hurting consumers,
especially those impacted by difficult economic conditions and those,
like most of Mediacom's customers, who live outside of the big cities."
"For over a decade, Mediacom, on behalf of the customers we serve in
small and mid-sized markets throughout the U.S., has been speaking out
against the practices of a handful of national media conglomerates. The
programmers' practice of tying carriage of weak networks to the grant of
licenses to carry popular networks has caused cable and satellite prices
to rise at a pace that far exceds inflation. Their refusal to permit
cable operators to offer the most expensive networks on an a la carte
basis has driven the cost of the basic package up to a point where it
has become unaffordable for more and more Americans."
"Tying, bundling and other practices of programmers raise the prices
that cable companies have to pay to buy programming, and most of these
costs ultimately have to be passed on to consumers. Contrary to
accusations by industry critics, cable companies are reluctant to raise
video subscriber rates because when we do, we lose customers. Mediacom
does not make more money when we raise video prices, since we remit
virtually every penny of the increase on to the content owners. Over the
last three years, the increase in our programming costs was more than
double the increase in video revenues, even after taking our subscriber
rate increases and equipment charges into account."
"Mediacom has made repeated attempts to bring these issues to the
attention of the Federal Communications Commission and other federal
lawmakers. We certainly hope that Cablevision's lawsuit leads to a
positive outcome for consumers."
Mediacom Communications Corporation is the nation's eighth largest cable
television company and one of the leading cable operators focused on
serving the smaller cities in the United States, with a significant
concentration in the Midwestern and Southeastern regions. Mediacom
Communications offers a wide array of information, communications and
entertainment services, including video, high-speed data and phone, and
provides innovative broadband communications solutions through its
Mediacom Business division that can be tailored to any size business.
Mediacom Communications' advertising sales and productions services are
sold under its OnMedia division. More information about Mediacom
Communications is available at www.mediacomcc.com.
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