Digital TV Facts: The Latest

I’m not aware of anything inherently Christian about “multicast must-carry,” a much-debated provision in proposed digital TV legislation. Yet the Christian Coalition (part of the Coalition for a Smart Digital TV Transition) has come out in favor of such a clause, and a self-identified “Christian public relations” firm is issuing press releases touting its benefits to religious broadcasters:

Jason Christy, publisher and editor in chief of The Church Report, is urging pastors, church leaders, and other Christians to contact key lawmakers and urge them to pass legislation that would prevent cable and satellite companies from excluding channels because they are religious.

I find this bizarre.

I know of no one who’s trying to use digital TV legislation to stomp out Christian programming. Multicast must-carry doesn’t inherently favor religious programming any more than roller derby or Baywatch reruns. Each existing local station can broadcast up to six separate multicast digital TV channels, and broadcasters want a mandate for cable companies to carry all of them, regardless of the programming.

Must-carry would make multicasting take off, no doubt, leaving broadcasters with extra hours to fill. Stations often sell spare air time to religious programmers, so more air might equal more 700 Club, all other things being equal. By the same token, it may mean many more channels of infomercials.

The Christian Coalition itself, of course, was founded by religious broadcaster/Republican extremist Pat Robertson. The issuer of the press release quoted above is WDC Media, which counts religious network TBN as a client. Perhaps religious conservatives, often at odds with broadcasters over the content of entertainment shows, now hope to be rewarded for supporting station owners’ legislative aims.

• Link: press release