Wyden to Streaming Services: It’s Time to Carry C-SPAN & Support Public Access to Government
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said today that he and U.S. Representative Mike Flood, R-Neb., are urging FuboTV, Hulu, and YouTube to carry C-SPAN on their pay TV live streaming services.
Their bipartisan letter to the streaming service companies notes that C-SPAN has been a part of packages sold by cable and satellite providers for more than 40 years yet major live TV streaming services have unfortunately failed to carry C-SPAN as they’ve entered the market.
“We write to urge you to make the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN) channels part of your streaming live television offerings. As greater numbers of Americans ‘cut the cord’ and migrate from cable to streaming services, it is vital that C-SPAN’s non-partisan coverage of Congress and the White House continue to be accessible,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter.
“As you may know, C-SPAN has provided Americans with unfiltered and non-partisan insight into the functions of government for over 45 years. Cable television revolutionized Americans’ access to information and entertainment,” they continued. “The cable companies then recognized the importance of offering their subscribers access to critical information about their government and created C-SPAN. 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.”
Founded in the 1970s, C-SPAN is organized as a non-profit. Through the years, it has delivered gavel-to-gavel coverage of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. No government or taxpayer dollars support the network, which is primarily funded by the nation’s cable and satellite companies.
The letter text is here.
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