Herring Networks' One America News Network and A Wealth of Entertainment (AWE) have come out in favor of the AT&T/DirecTV merger (AT&T carries the networks).
“Telco video providers AT&T U-verse TV and Verizon FiOS TV have a long, well established reputation of providing independent programming networks fair consideration when it comes to carriage decisions,” said Robert Herring, CEO of One America News Network and AWE, in a statement. “We know from our own experiences and candid conversations with other independent programming network executives that Telco video providers offer encouragement to independent business programming entrepreneurs by simply extending meetings and fair carriage consideration.”
Herring argues that the bundled offerings of AT&T and DirecTV can offer more competition to Comcast and Time Warner Cable, which also plan to merge. “Although we have aggressively sought carriage from the top multi-video programming distributors ('MVPD'), it’s the Telco video providers that have initially extended carriage," said Herring, adding that an AT&T and DirecTV combo would be a boon for independents in general.
