The seven Iowans who serve in Congress are asking the leaders of two feuding media companies to sit down with Federal Communications Commission negotiators. The dispute is between cable company Mediacom and Sinclair Broadcasting which owns two television stations in Iowa.
Both of Iowa’s U.S. senators and all five congressman have co-signed a letter that urges the two companies to sit down with a "neutral arbitrator" from the Federal Communications Commission and let the F-C-C determine what’s fair.
Senator Tom Harkin says Iowa consumers are being penalized for Sinclair’s decision to seek record prices for the rights to broadcast their stations’ signals on Mediacom. Because of the dispute, up to a quarter-of-a-million Iowans are currently unable to receive signals for K-G-A-N, the C-B-S affiliate in Cedar Rapids, and K-D-S-M FOX-17 in Des Moines.