Time Warner Cable, DirecTV, Dish, and Verizon all want the FCC to force the media companies to stop pulling their channels during negotiations or disputes, removing their main bargaining chip from the table.

The AP says fourteen companies and a consumer group made the request. Absent, of course, was Comcast which may soon become owner of one of the networks that may be threatening to pull its programming soon. Guess that gives you an idea of what to expect should the merger go through, huh?

Cable, sat TV firms ask gov’t to stop TV blackouts [Google]

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