>It wouldn't be a problem if the stations operating under the must
>carry rule had anything useful to broadcast. In most cases, they
>purchase canned programming and advertising, which are just clones of
>what you can watch on any of the major networks. Sometimes, they're
>even transmitted simultaneously with the major networks. If you've
>ever notice the same junk on multiple stations, that's why. The big
>draw for these stations is that they can proclaim that they have a
>huge audience, primarily due to the cable audience. Drop the rule,
>and their broadcast only audience will be comparatively zilch.
One big reason for "Must Carry" are the religious broadcasters. Channel surfing around several years ago, I heard the big cheese at TBN, (Crouch?), talking about their operation and talked about "Must Carry" and thanked the viewers for helping lobby their congressmen. So they're there on your cable to get "God's Word" out to the masses. Even if nobody is watching.
Mark Zenier snipped-for-privacy@eskimo.com Googleproofaddress(account:mzenier provider:eskimo domain:com)