Posted: 3:25 p.m.
State representative Lou Blessing (R-Colerain) has announced his sponsorship of legislation that protects Ohio consumers from losing out on television programming options because of disputes between cable operators and programmers. In part, the bill is designed to bring consumers greater access to sports programming offered by the NFL Network and the Big Ten Network.
The bill implements a mandatory dispute resolution mechanism for situations where cable operators and programmers can't negotiate an agreement, and the Bengals today issued the following statement in support of the legislation:
"Currently, the majority of Bengal fans in Ohio are not able to access the 24/7 football programming provided by the NFL Network, and those outside the immediate Greater Cincinnati area will likely miss out on the Network's broadcast of the Bengals-49ers game on December 15.
"House Bill 377 is an attempt to end the disagreements that limit access to the NFL Network and other networks (e.g. The Big Ten Network). The ability to put sports fans first by setting up an independent resolution process seems to be a fair approach that addresses the concerns of all parties involved."
