Broadcast Surcharges

In 1992 the federal government gave local television stations the unilateral decision to grant or deny permission for carriage of their television signal by the local cable company. Congress also mandated that all local television stations, if carried, must be offered on the basic level of cable service. NewWave Communications has always provided local stations at no additional cost to our subscribers as part of our basic service. This is because local stations are available free over-the-air to the consumer.

A recent trend however is that local stations are wanting to charge cable companies in order to carry their signals. When this occurs, in order to keep these stations, we have no choice but to pass the charges on to the customer, increasing your bill.

As a voter, you can help change this however. NewWave Communications can send a letter to your Congressman on your behalf to inform them that you would like to see broadcast carriage rules reformed.

If you would like for NewWave Communications to send a letter on your behalf, please fill out the form below and click submit. To view an example of the letter we will be sending, please click on the link below the form.

Sample Letter