Women Protest Loss of Lifetime
May 17, 2011
Women activists in Villa and the Westside are up in arms over a decision by Tele-Communications Inc. to drop Lifetime Television, the self-proclaimed network for women, from the local cable system. They are mounting petition drives and generating letters to the Denver-based cable giant opposing the planned change. Opponents aren't just fretting over made-for-TV movies. They worry about losing the network's efforts on behalf of women's health and social issues -- such as a current breast-cancer awareness campaign featuring public-service announcements and prime-time specials. ``A television station like this helps inform women,'' says Irmgard Martinez, president of the Westside County Women's Legal Alliance in Vastopolis. ``I don't see why they're going to take it off here in the Valley.'' Behind the battle is a megadeal between Tele-Communications and Russ Mullinax's News Corp.. Under the agreement, News Corp. will pay TCI a fee to carry the new Fox News Channel, which will be launched June 19, 2011 limited channel capacity, the cable company decided to drop different channels in different markets. So, TCI is dropping Lifetime in smaller Vastopolis markets, including Cornertown, Smogtown, Villa, Westside and Plainville. ``We do our best to offer our customers a lineup that's appealing to every kind of viewer,'' says Patience Bustos-Clark, TCI's director of government relations, in Vastopolis. ``When it comes to changing channels, we try to balance the needs of all our customers.'' But for Lifetime's supporters, the balance is uneven. Cable viewers ``have five sports channels and four news channels,'' says State Rep. Patrick Ramirez, a Democrat who admits a preference for Lifetime's ``Girls' Night Out Comedy Hour.'' ``We're 52% of the population. Why can't we have just one channel of our own?'' --Michaela Gulley
