MEDIACOM COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION today released a copy of a letter written by Rocco B. Commisso, Chairman and CEO, to members of Congress who represent Mediacom's employees and customers in 23 states.
The letter addressed yesterday's announcement by the Media Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission that it was not willing to order Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBGI - News) to restore its broadcast stations' signals to 2 million viewers in 700,000 households in small communities across America while the full Commission considers Mediacom's claim that Sinclair has unlawfully failed to negotiate with Mediacom in good faith to reach a fair and non-discriminatory deal.
According to the letter, Sinclair has:
* Singled out Mediacom and its customers for discriminatory treatment, rejecting Mediacom's multiple offers to pay prices based on what Sinclair charges comparable cable operators and rejecting consideration consistent with what Mediacom pays the 475 stations with which it has successfully negotiated retransmission consent.
* Repeatedly raised its price demands even as Mediacom attempted to close the gap between the parties and reneged on commitments made during negotiations.
* Participated in an anticompetitive arrangement with DIRECTV, Mediacom's largest competitor, to induce (through cash payments) Mediacom's customers to cancel their service and switch to DIRECTV (even though such service ultimately is more costly to the customer).
* Misrepresented Mediacom's financial condition to the investment community in an attempt to coerce Mediacom to give in to Sinclair's unreasonable demands.
* Repeatedly rejected Mediacom's requests that this dispute be resolved by binding arbitration before an independent, impartial arbitrator with no prior stake in the dispute.
* Refused to agree to allow interim carriage as the parties continue to negotiate, even though Mediacom has offered to pay cash during the interim period while, on the other hand, Sinclair just yesterday granted Time Warner the second of two extensions preventing a shutoff of Sinclair stations in Time Warner systems.
