CBS is in a snit. In the wake of the Network Affiliate Station Alliance filing three weeks ago alleging that networks were squeezing the life out of affiliates CBS yesterday sent a letter to all CBS affiliate general managers and group owners reporting that the the netwrok-affiliate spring meeting is still on--but that the network will no longer recognize or deal with the current affiliate advisory board.
Sources say CBS executives were really ticked off that the affiliate board didn't at least do them the courtesy of letting them know the NASA petition was coming.
Ray Deaver, chairman of CBS affiliate advisory board, and who runs the CBS affiliate in Waco, Tx., said affiliates would take up CBS's issue with the board at its closed session at the spring meeting, now set for May 30-31 in Las Vegas.
"We'll take up their concerns and give them full consideration," he said.
Paul Karpowicz, immediate past chairman of the CBS affiliate board and vice president at LIN Television, said "its unfortunate that because the affiliate board took a different position on the NASA filing than CBS that their response is since we disagreed on this issue we don't want to talk to you anymore." - Steve McClellan
