Indianapolis Broadcaster Accuses AT&T of Racial Discrimination

(namely, white-owned) when negotiating carriage agreements,” said Circle City’s complaint. AT&T carried Circle City’s Indianapolis stations WNDY-TV and WISH-TV for years when they were owned by Nexstar, but ceased carriage when the stations were sold in 2019, the complaint said. AT&T Chief Content Officer Rob Thun told Circle City CEO DuJuan McCoy the carrier doesn’t pay license fees for stand-alone, non-Big 4 TV stations, according to an email that was filed with the complaint. Circle City argues in the complaint that AT&T’s refusal to negotiate stems from an internal “playbook” designed “to suppress minority-based content.” AT&T’s policies “have created and sustained a systemic, decades-long racial barrier for minorities and their companies trying to find their rightful place in American television broadcasting.” Circle City is seeking “retransmission fees at a fair market rate, other lost revenue, actual and punitive damages, interest, and reasonable attorneys’ fees.” Circle City also sued Dish Network for racial discrimination over carriage. “These allegations are baseless and we will fight them in court" said an AT&T spokesperson. "Circle City sued as a negotiating tactic only after we declined its demands for compensation above and beyond what similar independent stations receive.”