RFD-TV executives are lobbying government officials in Washington, D.C., to approve a merger that will see the network on more cable providers. In this news release, RFD-TV points out that Charter Communications, which has a pending merger with Time Warner and Brighthouse cable networks, has a proven track record of supporting rural, independent programming, and the rural network now enjoys full distribution in all Charter systems nationwide, both in standard and high definition.

By contrast, only 4% of Time Warner and Brighthouse cable customers currently enjoy RFD-TV due to lack of carriage in most areas of the country and/or placement of RFD-TV on obscure tiers. Since March 2014, RFD-TV has been out of contract with both Time Warner and Brighthouse, who have been unwilling to negotiate in good faith to increase distribution of rural, independent programming.

“Rural America recognizes that its best opportunity to reconnect city with country again is to have Charter Communications control access to the urban homes currently being served by Time Warner Cable and Brighthouse systems,” stated Patrick Gottsch, founder and president of Rural Media Group, Inc. “This is a totally different situation compared to the previous takeover attempt as roles are reversed with the smaller rural cable company merging with the larger urban clustered entities.”

In support of the merger, RFD-TV submitted comments to the FCC.