Venture Technologies Group, LLC (VTG) has begun airing UPN programming in Syracuse on WAWA-LP. WAWA, a low-power television station, is now the only UPN over-the-air television station in the Syracuse
market. The previous affiliate switched networks last year. AOL Time Warner Syracuse Cable (AOL), however, has refused to carry WAWA because it does not want to allow a new entrant in the market to
compete against it for Syracuse advertising revenue. Instead, AOL elected to take advantage of a loophole in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules that permit AOL to pay to import an
out-of-market UPN station despite UPN's and WAWA's exclusive agreement for Syracuse. The FCC has indicated its desire to close this loophole in previous rulemakings. To combat AOL's effort to stifle
local competition, VTG filed a petition for an expedited rulemaking today at the FCC to close this loophole and provide low-power television stations the same program exclusivity rights that
full-power television stations enjoy.
-- Adam Bernard
