ATLANTA, April 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cox Media Group (“CMG”) today filed a formal response to the FCC in reply to a meritless FCC complaint by Cincinnati Bell (dba AltaFiber) in early April. In addition to including a full refutation of the false claims, CMG’s filing includes a counter claim and asks that substantial penalties be levied against Cincinnati Bell.
The dispute began with Cincinnati Bell’s contention that CMG was seeking to require it to pay for broadband users who aren’t television subscribers for Cincinnati Bell’s yet-to-be launched video service. In today’s FCC filing, CMG clearly demonstrates the dishonesty of this claim.
“The idea that CMG is demanding Cincinnati Bell to pay for broadband-only subscribers is patently false,” said Paul Curran, CMG’s EVP, Television. “In fact, CMG’s proposal specifically exempts broadband-only customers. We included that proposal with today’s filing.”
“At the end of the day, we’re constantly striving to inform, connect, entertain, and inspire our audiences and our communities,” Curran added. “We only ask to be paid by distributors for the audiences we serve.”
The second issue in Bell’s complaint focuses on CMG’s demand that Cincinnati Bell honestly portray its programming costs to subscribers, rather than pretending that retransmission consent fees are a unique cost that requires a “surcharge.”
“What they claim is somehow ‘bad faith’ on our part is actually a good-faith belief in pro-consumer transparency and truth in cable billing,” Curran said. “Consumers are demanding transparency from companies. That’s what we demand of ourselves, and it’s what we expect from all of our partners, including Cincinnati Bell.”
In addition to the full refutation of these complaints, CMG’s FCC filing also lays out in detail how Cincinnati Bell has abused the retransmission consent process over a prolonged three-year period. During this time, it repeatedly disappeared in negotiations up to the month before it says in its complaint it was planning to bring its new service to Dayton. This behavior is a classic breach of the FCC good-faith negotiation rules, and CMG makes this counterclaim against Cincinnati Bell. Compounded with the subsequent abuse of the FCC process in filing a complaint that lacks any factual basis and contains outright lies and distortions, CMG is asking the FCC to levy penalties against Cincinnati Bell.
Despite Cincinnati Bell’s actions and what Curran called “blatant theatrics,” CMG continued to reach out with assurance that it seeks to have productive negotiations with Cincinnati Bell.
“Rather than trying to create business leverage through the regulatory process by attempting to interfere with FCC review of non-related deals, Cincinnati Bell should actually negotiate,” Curran concluded. “We could have resolved this without the FCC. But now that they’re involved, we’ll prove how irresponsible the complaints are and hope Cincinnati Bell is held accountable for its affront to us and the consumers they’ve been promising a service to for three years.”
About Cox Media Group
CMG Media Corporation (d/b/a Cox Media Group) is an industry-leading media company with unparalleled brands, award-winning content, and exceptional people. CMG provides valuable local content to viewers in the communities in which it serves. The company’s operations primarily include 31 high-quality, market-leading television stations in 20 markets, 53 top-performing radio stations delivering multiple genres of content in 11 markets, and numerous streaming and digital platforms. CMG’s portfolio includes primary affiliates of ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telemundo and MyNetworkTV, as well as several valuable news and independent stations. Additionally, the company also offers a full suite of national, regional, local and digital advertising services with CMG Local Solutions, CoxReps and Gamut. For more information about CMG, visit www.coxmediagroup.com.
