D.C. Memo: No Thank You, C-SPAN —Google, Disney & FuboTV Snub Public Affairs Channel
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C-SPAN: It used to be that under the leadership of C-SPAN's George Washington – founder Brian Lamb — the public affairs channel wanted nothing to do with government support. But under new CEO Sam Feist, C-SPAN is making a huge pivot and is now looking to Capitol Hill for support to expand its carriage on various streaming platforms — probably because about 45 million traditional cable TV and satellite TV subscribers have cut the cord since 2018. Yesterday, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.) sent a letter to the heads of YouTube TV, Disney’s Hulu + Live TV, and FuboTV pressuring them to carry C-SPAN, a non-profit Lamb launched in 1979 with help from cable TV pioneers. "Over the years, new entrants to the television market like fiber and new satellite providers have agreed to carry and fund C-SPAN. So too should live TV streaming services," the lawmakers said. The three streamers, serving about 15 million subscribers combined nationally, would owe C-SPAN about $1 million a year if Wyden and Flood’s assumption is correct that C-SPAN charges $0.07 per month, per subscriber. "We appreciate that many members of Congress recognize C-SPAN as an essential public service. For over seven years, we’ve sought to bring C-SPAN to the new TV streaming platforms, yet some of the largest companies still refuse to carry our networks," C-SPAN said in a statement.
Susan Swain, retired C-SPAN co-CEO and Lamb mentee for decades, was more blunt on her X feed: “Yes, @YouTubeTV, @fuboTV and @hulu – it’s long past time for you to bring @cspan's #unfiltered coverage of Congress, the White House and #SCOTUS to the customers you serve. #publicservice cc: @Google.” Swain attached an image of the Wyden-Flood letter to her post. FuboTV spokeswoman Jennifer Press said, "Fubo is open to discussing C-SPAN carriage." Ironically, Wyden, as a House member, voted for the 1992 Cable Act, which forced cable TV operators to carry local TV stations – a law that infuriated Lamb, who locked arms with cable programmers to fight "must carry" in the Supreme Court in a losing cause.