Stainless Broadcasting’s Fox KMVU-TV Medford OR was negotiating retransmission with Charter Cable Communications systems serving Mount Shasta CA and Yreka CA when it found its programming going on a little trip from its rightful Channel 13 all the way down to Channel 98. In its place came KCVU-TV out of Chico CA. This is a no-no, and the FCC hit the cable company for $20K on each system, for a total of $40K. It declined to add in additional penalty for violation of network non-duplication violations, in one case because it didn’t apply and in the other because of a technicality.
RBR/TVBR observation: Bottom line, no matter how rancorous negotiations get, it is important to play by the rules. The FCC’s zebra stripes are on and its conduit account to the US Treasury is open for business.
