Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17) issued the following statement following the agreement reached late Sunday by Cablevision and Disney in their licensing dispute. The decision was announced during the ABC-TV broadcast of the Academy Awards ceremony. Viewers in the New York City region missed the opening segments of the telecast and their signal was restored during the first award. Rep. Engel is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

"I am pleased that the public war of wills between Cablevision and Disney is over, but I am extremely disappointed that once again the viewing public paying the cable bills were the ones put in the middle.

“The two sides had two years to find an agreement and not have a situation on one of the year’s most watched nights of television. The signal should have never been a weapon in this negotiation. The minute that became an option, the consumer became a pawn in the negotiation. This trend by media companies to threaten the removal of programming during licensing negotiations needs to come to a halt. If you cannot figure out a way to split millions of dollars, the problem shouldn’t be complicated by holding hard-working families hostage, as you try to figure it out.

“We must not allow constituents to be used as negotiation tools over retransmission consent. I repeat my call to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to provide a regulatory fix to allow broadcasters to receive fair compensation for their product, while not charging cable and satellite providers’ outrageously high rates. The current situation is harmful to cable and satellite providers, harmful to broadcasters, and most of all, harmful to viewers.

“It was ridiculous to see consumers used this way in a squabble over money. Cablevision customers, and ABC viewers, will eventually wind up shouldering the financial burden from the deal. Perhaps next time they won’t be forced to take a financial hit along with a programming disruption.”