ATVA launches Local Choice ad campaign

Seizing on rare bipartisan Congressional support, the American Television Alliance (ATVA) is launching an ad campaign to support a newly proposed alternative to broadcast retransmission fees, "Local Choice."

The campaign of print, digital media and radio ads promotes a proposal made by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jany Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) and ranking member John Thune (R-S.D.), which has gained traction through an endorsement Monday by Senate Republicans. Supporters want to make it part of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Reauthorization Act when it reaches the Senate floor this fall.

Here's a PDF image of the print ad. The radio spot can be heard here.

The proposal is this: Pay-TV operators would make every local broadcast channel available to subscribers, who would them choose which stations they'd like to receive. Payments would be made directly from consumers to broadcasters, and retrans would go away.

The idea, of course, is proving popular with groups like the ATVA, which represent pay-TV interests. Broadcasters, of course, are not too fond of an initiative that threatens retrans.

For more:
- read this Multichannel News story

Related links:
Senate Republicans plug 'Local Choice' alternative to retransmission consent
House passes STELA, boosts pay TV retrans leverage, ends CableCARD requirement
Senators push for pay TV retransmission reform; broadcasters push back