Rep. Flood & Sen. Wyden to Streaming Services: It’s Time to Carry C-SPAN & Support Public Access to Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Congressman Mike Flood (R-NE) and U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent a letter to FuboTV, Hulu, and YouTube urging them to carry C-SPAN on their pay TV live streaming services. C-SPAN has been a part of packages sold by America’s cable and satellite providers for more than 40 years. Unfortunately, major live TV streaming services have failed to carry C-SPAN as they’ve entered the market.

“We write to urge you to make the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN) channels part of your streaming live television offerings. As greater numbers of Americans ‘cut the cord’ and migrate from cable to streaming services, it is vital that C-SPAN’s non-partisan coverage of Congress and the White House continue to be accessible,” they wrote in their letter.

“As you may know, C-SPAN has provided Americans with unfiltered and non-partisan insight into the functions of government for over 45 years. Cable television revolutionized Americans’ access to information and entertainment,” they continued. “The cable companies then recognized the importance of offering their subscribers access to critical information about their government and created C-SPAN. Over the years, new entrants to the television market like fiber and new satellite providers have agreed to carry and fund C-SPAN. So too should live TV streaming services.”

Founded in the 1970s, C-SPAN is organized as a non-profit. Through the years, they have delivered gavel-to-gavel coverage of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. No government or taxpayer dollars support the network, which is primarily funded by the nation’s cable and satellite companies. Additional background can be found here.

Congressman Flood is a member of the Financial Services Committee. A full copy of the letter sent to the streaming services can be found here.