To the Editor:
Most of us just assume that when you subscribe to Comcast or DirecTV, even the most basic package comes with the local affiliates of the major networks — ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. Now, WHDH TV, Channel 7 — the NBC affiliate in Boston — has pulled its station from the DirecTV lineup because Ed Ansin, who owns Sunbeam Media, the parent company, has decided that he wants more money from DirecTV.
He also owns the NBC affiliate in Miami and has blacked out that market as well.
Mr. Ansin is in a battle with NBCUniversal, who wants to take the NBC franchise away from him in 2017. It seems that he refuses to carry the network whenever there is something local to broadcast that he can make more money on, leaving the viewers who expect network programming out in the cold.
Many of us who live here year round cannot get Comcast because the Island is not completely wired (although Comcast vowed to wire the entire Island when they took over the cable contract a few years ago — another frustrating problem). The alternative is either Dish Network or DirecTV.
Consumers have very little to say about things like this, except to complain to the companies involved — most of the time it is a futile enterprise and a waste of time. But, because the Olympics have started and advertisers want us all watching, you can write letters to your local congressman, senator, and state representative, as they do react to consumer pressure when things get serious. You can also keep calling DirecTV to complain to whomever answers, reminding them that we have Dish Network as an alternative.
If we are silent we will not get NBC back until 2017, when NBCUniversal gets rid of Mr. Ansin, a pigheaded multimillionaire who only acts when it begins to hurt him in the wallet. It will hurt when advertisers find out via social media and when letters to the editor alert them that a big chunk of the people they are paying to reach are unable to see their messages.
Rep. Bill Keating’s website is keating.house.gov.
John Verret
Chilmark
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