Contact:
Mike Angelos
Vice President/Corporate Communications
Pappas Telecasting Companies
500 S. Chinowth Rd.
Visalia, CA 93277
(559) 733-7800 (O)
(559) 636-5558 (F)
MAngelos@pappastv.com

 
(Visalia, California) Pappas Telecasting Companies today issued the following statement regarding the FOX network’s cancellation of “O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here’s How It Happened”:

“The cancellation by the FOX network of the O.J. Simpson special is a victory for the people who spoke out.  It demonstrates the power of the people, whose voices were heard all the way to Hollywood and New York.

We congratulate the leaders of the FOX network for reconsidering their earlier decision.  After all, broadcasters have a dual duty.  We are not just businesspersons – we are public trustees, as well.  As such, we must remember that the values and standards of the public we serve must be paramount in our programming decisions.  Put another way, our duties as broadcasters mean putting the public first and profits second.

This special would have benefited only O.J. Simpson, who deserves nothing but contempt, and certainly no benefit.”

About the Company

Pappas Telecasting Companies is the largest privately-held, commercial television broadcast group in the United States in terms of U.S. Household coverage as defined by Nielsen Media Research.  The company owns and operates FOX affiliates KMPH/Fresno, California; KPTM/Omaha, Nebraska; KPTH/Sioux City, Iowa; and KSNB/KTVG/Lincoln-Hastings-Kearney, Nebraska.  In total, the company owns 27 stations, including market-leading FOX, The CW, ABC, CBS, Azteca America, and MyNetworkTV affiliates, and operates four other stations pursuant to local marketing agreements, in most regions of the United States.  Additionally, Pappas owns 16 on-air digital channels, operates three others under LMAs, and holds construction permits to build 10 additional television stations.  Pappas also is moving KTRB-AM 860 from Modesto to the San Francisco-San Jose radio market, and recently launched KMPH-AM 840 in Modesto.  According to statistics from Nielsen, Pappas Telecasting television stations serve more than 16% of all U.S. television households. In addition, the company owns or operates television stations in markets reaching nearly 36% of U.S. Hispanic households and 38% of all U.S. Hispanic persons age 2+. In total, Pappas owns or operates stations in 24 Designated Market Areas.