BALTIMORE, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sinclair Broadcast Group,
Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) today sent the attached letter to members of Congress
to respond to the inaccurate and outrageous claims made by Mediacom
Communications Corp. (Nasdaq: MCCC) in a letter it sent to the same members
of Congress on January 13, 2007. Sinclair is releasing a copy of its letter
to the public because Mediacom, in a continuing effort to publicly air
private business negotiations, publicly released the letter it sent.
As Sinclair pointed out in its letter, Mediacom has been unsuccessful
in its past attempts to obtain help from both a Federal court and the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC). That Mediacom, having failed in
both the courts and at the FCC, would now try to obtain intervention from
the legislative branch of the Federal government is not surprising.
Mediacom's efforts represent nothing more than the desperate attempt of a
private enterprise to seek Congressional assistance to remedy its failure
to reach agreement during private negotiations. Given 1) that
well-established laws exist regarding retransmission consent negotiations,
2) the Federal agency charged with overseeing such negotiations has already
found that Sinclair acted properly, and 3) the variety of other means
consumers have for receiving the stations, Sinclair is confident Mediacom's
efforts with members of Congress will have the same effect as did its
unsuccessful efforts to seek judicial and administrative assistance.
Although it may be Mediacom's belief (as stated in its letter) that
"any objective observer would have to concede that Sinclair's treatment of
Mediacom ... has been unreasonable and unlawful," Sinclair believes that
the fact that two such objective observers - a Federal court and the FCC -
have reached precisely the opposite conclusion would suggest that
Mediacom's belief is completely incorrect.
The impacted stations are:
Des Moines/Ames (KDSM-FOX), Cedar Rapids (KGAN-CBS), Mobile-Pensacola
(WEAR-ABC/WFGX-MNT), Peoria/Bloomington (WYZZ-FOX),
Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville (WLOS-ABC/WMYA-MNT), Lexington (WDKY-FOX),
Madison (WMSN-FOX), Nashville (WZTV-FOX/ WUXP-MNT/WNAB-CW), Minneapolis
(WUCW- CW), Paducah/Cape Girardeau (KBSI-FOX/WDKA-MNT),
Springfield/Champaign/Decatur (WICS-ABC/WICD-ABC), St. Louis (KDNL-ABC),
Tallahassee (WTWC-NBC), Birmingham (WTTO-CW/WABM-MNT), Norfolk (WTVZ-MNT)
and Milwaukee (WCGV-MNT /WVTV-CW).
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., one of the largest and most diversified
television broadcasting companies, currently owns and operates, programs or
provides sales services to 58 television stations in 36 markets. Sinclair's
television group reaches approximately 22% of U.S. television households
and is affiliated with all the major networks.
Forward-Looking Statements:
The matters discussed in this press release include forward-looking
statements regarding, among other things, future operating results. When
used in this press release, the words "outlook," "intends to," "believes,"
"anticipates," "expects," "achieves," and similar expressions are intended
to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results in the future could
differ materially and adversely from those described in the forward-looking
statements as a result of various important factors, including and in
addition to the assumptions identified above, the impact of changes in
national and regional economies, successful integration of acquired
television stations (including achievement of synergies and cost
reductions), FCC approval of pending license transfers, successful
execution of outsourcing agreements, pricing and demand fluctuations in
local and national advertising, volatility in programming costs, the market
acceptance of new programming and our news central strategy, our local
sales initiatives, and the other risk factors set forth in the Company's
most recent reports on Form 10-Q and Form 10-K, as filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. There can be no assurances that the
assumptions and other factors referred to in this release will occur. The
Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any
revisions to these forward-looking statements.
The following is Sinclair's letter to Congress responding to Mediacom's
inaccurate and outrageous statements made in its January 13, 2007 letter to
members of Congress:
January 16, 2007
The Senators and Congressmen of the
States of Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Iowa,
Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri,
North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and
Wisconsin
United States Congress
Washington, DC
Gentlemen:
I am writing in response to a letter you recently received from Rocco
Commisso, the CEO of Mediacom Communications Corp, relating to
retransmission consent negotiations between Mediacom and Sinclair. Although
Mr. Commisso made numerous baseless and outrageous allegations in his
letter, I am going to confine my response to the following most material
points.
1. Well-established laws already exist which clearly provide that such
negotiations are simply, ordinary course of business negotiations between
private enterprises, subject to the review by the Federal Communications
Commission to ensure the parties meet their obligation to negotiate in good
faith. Such laws contemplate the possibility that the parties will at times
not reach agreement.
2. Mediacom previously made essentially the same allegation made in Mr.
Commisso's letter in filings with the Federal Communications Commission.
After a full review of the situations, including lengthy, written
submissions and in-person meetings with both parties, the FCC found
completely against Mediacom, concluding that Sinclair had not failed to
negotiate in good faith.
3. Mediacom previously brought a lawsuit against Sinclair in Federal
District Court in Iowa. The Court in that matter denied a request for an
injunction sought by Mediacom, finding in favor of Sinclair on all aspects
of the matter including a conclusion that Mediacom was not likely to
succeed on the merits of its claim.
4. Mediacom's cable systems represent nothing more than one of several
means for receiving Sinclair's television stations. These stations are all
available completely for free over-the-air. In addition, both DirecTV and
Dish Network (direct competitors to Mediacom) carry all of the stations, as
do (in certain cases) other cable companies that serve the same customers
as Mediacom. Although there may be a minor inconvenience for Mediacom
customers who choose to make alternative arrangements to receive the
stations, such alternative arrangements do in fact exist.
In the end, Mediacom has written to you about a simple commercial
negotiation where two parties have not been able to reach agreement. This
matter has already been carefully considered by the FCC, the governmental
agency charged with overseeing such negotiations, which has found that
Sinclair has fully complied with the law. A process for review and appeal
of the FCC's opinion exists and Mediacom has already begun availing itself
of this appeal process. To the extent members of the public care strongly
about watching Sinclair's programming, they can take simple steps to
receive the stations through means other than cable services provided by
Mediacom.
In addition, to the extent Mediacom remains interested in obtaining the
right to retransmit such stations, Sinclair continues to be willing to
negotiate in good faith. We are, however, concerned that the ongoing belief
by Mediacom that the government, whether the judicial, administrative or
legislative branches, will step in to remedy their failure to complete a
transaction has a chilling affect on Mediacom's willingness to agree to
fair and reasonable terms.
Accordingly, I respectfully request that you advise Mediacom that this
is not a matter that requires Congressional action. To the extent, however,
that I can provide you with any additional information, please let me know.
Sincerely yours,
David D. Smith
President & Chief Executive Officer
cc: U. S. Senate
Chairman Daniel K. Inouye
Co-Chairman Ted Stevens
U.S. House of Representatives
Chairman John D. Dingell
Chairman Edward Markey
Ranking Member Joe Barton
Ranking Member Fred Upton
SOURCE Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.sbgi.net
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/110203.html /
CONTACT:
Barry M. Faber, V.P. & General Counsel,
Sinclair Broadcast Group, +1-410-568-1500
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