US Cellular responds to Sinclair!

[zapp]

At U.S. Cellular, we strive to provide the very best in customer
satisfaction and we appreciate your recent inquiry regarding Sinclair
Broadcasting Group. As a non-partisan corporation, U.S. Cellular does not
take a position in the presidential race. However, we believe the program
"Stolen Honor" does not provide an optimal environment for our advertising.
Therefore, we have instructed Sinclair affiliates not to run U.S. Cellular
commercial spots two hours before, during and after the program's airing.
We value your opinion and hope our response addresses your concerns.

Sincerely,

John E. Rooney
President & CEO
U.S. Cellular

[Tesibria]

1. and another gone

and another one down

another one bites the dust.....

:toast:

[Hello_Kitty]

2. Yay U.S. Cellular!!

I may have to change my provider in gratitude.

[kostya]

3. Remember to say thank you folks!!

:toast:

[Indiana_Dem]

4. That's not good enough.

They need to totally withdraw from Sinclair stations (at least for a while).

I'm discontinuing my contract when it's up.

[Alpharetta]

8. I agree

I will continue honoring the boycott of U.S.Cellular and all advertisers who continue to purchase Sinclair time.

[Thurston Howell IV]

5. The way to change corporate behavior

is through their bottom line. It's the only thing they understand. Sinclair created a situation which threatens the sales of the advertisers on its stations. Stupid move -- but only because of the pressure we put on them.

It's my hope that all the activism that is going into defeating Bush and supporting Kerry continues after the election to continue to bring about positive change in the country. This election has generated a lot of energy in that direction. I hope it continues!

[David Zephyr]

6. This is Fodder / Evidence for the Class Action Suit Against Sinclair

It's investors have tangible "direct evidence" of the Smith's reckless decision which exposed investors and stockholders.

Loverly.

[napi21]

7. Does "not airing a commercial" take $$ away from Sinclair?

Isn't commercial time paid for in blocks? I don't know how this would work. If I say don't run my ad for 4 or 5 hours, how does that affect Sinclair?

[lfs5]

14. Come to think of it, I believe you're right--

They'll just shift the runs around--air them at different times and not be hurt at all financially, while advertisers can continue their contract without fearing customer reprisals. THAT STINKS1 THEY THINK WE'RE TOO STUPID TO KNOW HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS.

In fact, that kind of hypocritical attitude is worse than standing up and airing spots during the broadcast!

[bush equals idiot]

9. That's an insult !

They won't run commercials for five whole hours. Big effing deal. That's like saying I won't take a bath for five hours.

For Christ sake, don't get excited about that response. Boycott them forever. They apparently don't get the point.

The idea is THE "PROGRAM" DOES NOT RUN !!!!!

[Indykatie]

12. Commercial Free Plan

I thought the plan was to run the program with no commercial breaks. Deciding to pull the company's ads for a portion of the day is a very weak concession. Sounds a bit patronizing to me.

[JohnnyCougar]

10. That's what they've been saying for days.

They shouldn't be supporting Sinclair, period. Don't they understand that?

I think it's time for a barrage of e-mails: [e-mail]

Screw that, I'm calling them: 773-399-8873

[lfs5]

16. Email Cellular One NOW!

Here's my reply to them:

Apparently you think your customers are stupid--too ignorant to realize that not airing your spots for five hours does anything other than cause the individual who maintains the station logs a little extra work.

I do believe you should give your customers more credit. What you're doing is an insult to their intelligence--AND a disservice to the Anerican voter!

[Nana]

11. I just don't see..

..this as anything, they are still supporting Sinclair by advertising..

[lfs5]

13. NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!

We HAVE to keep the pressure on!!! Loss of five hours worth of ad revenues won't hurt Sinclair. It has to be a long-term boycott of station advertisers TO INCLUDE THE PERIOD AFTER THE PROPAGANDA PROGRAM HAS AIRED!!!

[NightOwwl]

15. This is similar to the response I received from IAMS

Dear Concerned Consumer:

Thanks for contacting us about Sinclair Broadcast Group's plans to air "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal."

We haven't reviewed the content of this program, nor would we advertise in it. One of our guiding principles is that we don't advertise in programs where there is expression for or against a given political candidate.

The way we spend our advertising dollar is important to us. For most TV programming, we're able to review the content on a show by show basis before making any advertising decisions. You may see some of our commercials air on the Sinclair Broadcast Group's network during shows that we've already agreed to appear in. The networks also have control over TV programming and can choose to preempt regularly scheduled programming with different programs, such as this one.

We appreciate your comments and I'm sharing them with those responsible for television sponsorship.

Sincerely,
Tina
Iams Consumer Care, North America

************

When they advertise is not the point. I don't want Sinclair profiting off their advertising dollars period!

[foo_bar]

17. the coveted dinner time slot

Tell U.S. Cellular we got a better deal from Sprint.