Cable America Challenges Station Licenses

[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Allison Romano]
Cable America, a small cable operator with systems in Missouri, Arizona and California, is petitioning the Federal Communications Commission to deny license renewals to two Springfield (MO) TV stations. In its filings, Cable America claims the stations are being operated as a duopoly by Nexstar in violation of FCC ownership rules. “Nexstar and Mission, through a complex web of contracts and operating arrangements, have engaged in a subterfuge that violates federal law,” Cable America says in a letter to the commission. Nexstar COO Duane Lammers says the petition is “attempted extortion” and adds that the companies have fully disclosed ­ and received FCC approval for ­ all of the company’s joint operations with Mission stations. The action comes as Cable America is embroiled in a nasty retransmission consent negotiation with the two outlets, Nexstar Broadcasting’s KSFX and Mission Broadcasting-owned KOLR. The companies are at odds over Nexstar’s demands that cable operators pay subscriber fees to carry its stations and Mission-owned outlets. Talks deteriorated so badly that Nexstar pulled the stations’ signals off Cable America’s 8,000 subscriber system Jan. 1, and the negotiations are stalled. Cable America says the ownership arrangement hamstrings competition, including in its retransmission negotiations.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6297279?display=Breaking+News...
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