Cablevision, CBS, Ion, Meredith, PMCM, TWC Spar Over Channel Assignment
Several broadcasters and cable operators visited the FCC to discuss their dispute with PMCM over that company's channel assignment, said an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 14-150. The Media Bureau’s decision “must be erroneous” because it requires PMCM's…
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WJLP Middletown Township, New Jersey, to be “allocated to two different markets but not the one where it actually is allocated by the Table of Allotments,” PMCM said. It recounted in the Feb. 22 meeting that CBS and Meredith said that by using its over-the-air channel as its program and system information protocol channel, PMCM was “inappropriately attempting to ride on the channel 3 'brand' that they had built up over the years.” Though PMCM said that TV sets in its area don't direct to its assigned channel 33 when tuned to 33, CBS said this could be fixed by educating viewers to tune to 33.1, the filing said. “The educational effort necessary to get the word to all viewers in the market that they must press 33.1, rather than the customary 33, would be financially crushing,” PMCM said. It said that Cablevision, Ion and Time Warner Cable were also represented at the meeting.