Belo Delivers Letter Regarding Multicast Carriage for Digital Broadcast Signals to Members of Congress

Belo Delivers Letter Regarding Multicast Carriage for Digital Broadcast Signals to Members of Congress

DALLAS, Jan. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Belo Corp. (NYSE:BLC) delivered the attached letter regarding the Federal Communications Commission's upcoming vote on multicast carriage for digital broadcast signals to the chairmen of the House and Senate Commerce Committees and other select members of Congress. In the letter, Robert W. Decherd, Belo's chairman, president and chief executive officer, encourages members to recommend to the FCC that it postpone action on this item, allowing Congress and the new FCC Chair the opportunity to consider comprehensively the many significant issues that will impact the transition to digital television.

About Belo

Belo Corp. is one of the nation's largest media companies with a diversified group of market-leading television, newspaper, cable and interactive media assets. A Fortune 1000 company with approximately 7,600 employees and $1.4 billion in annual revenues, Belo operates media franchises in some of America's most dynamic markets and regions, including Texas, the Northwest, the Southwest, Rhode Island, and the Mid-Atlantic. Belo owns 19 television stations (six in the top 15 markets); owns or operates seven cable news channels; and manages one television station through a local marketing agreement. Belo's daily newspapers are The Dallas Morning News, The Providence Journal, The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA) and the Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, TX). Belo operates more than 30 Web sites, several interactive alliances and a broad range of Internet-based products. Additional information, including earnings releases and corporate communications, is available online at http://www.belo.com/ . For more information contact Carey Hendrickson, vice president/Investor Relations & Corporate Communications, at 214-977-6626.

January 26, 2005


Dear Mr. Chairman:



Chairman Powell has announced that at the February 10 meeting of the FCC, the Commission will vote on the issue of multicast carriage for digital broadcast signals. The Chairman's proposal denies broadcasters the right to multicast carriage, and as I understand it, this action will be one of the final issues that Chairman Powell addresses before leaving in March. I believe that taking agency action prior to a new FCC Chair being seated and that person having the opportunity to consider this matter is very ill- advised. Moreover, a decision now by the FCC could hamper Congress's ability to consider all of the important issues surrounding the transition. Everyone acknowledges the need to reach closure on this issue, but Chairman Powell's approach is the wrong way to do so.

The DTV transition needs to be analyzed in a comprehensive fashion. As the Commerce Committees and the FCC reorganize under new leadership, hastening consumer transition to digital television will and should be a priority. A key aspect of a hastened transition is the ability of broadcasters to offer multicast programming choices in our local markets. Given the combined market penetration and gatekeeper status of cable operators and satellite providers, local broadcasters need multicast carriage in order for these services to reach viewers on a financially viable basis. Without multicast carriage, the DTV transition could be protracted; with it, there will be local multicast broadcast programming that provides consumers with the extra incentive they are looking for to purchase digital television sets. Just today, Belo's Texas Cable News aired live, and in their entirety, President Bush's press conference and Texas Governor Perry's "State of the State" address; these are the kinds of programming choices that are available in a local multicasting environment where local television licensees can make choices that serve the public interest.

I urge you to recommend to the FCC that it postpone action on this item and allow Congress and the new FCC Chair the opportunity to consider comprehensively the many significant issues that will impact the transition to digital television.

Sincerely,

Robert Decherd


Source: Belo Corp.

CONTACT: Carey Hendrickson, vice president-Investor Relations &
Corporate Communications of Belo Corp., +1-214-977-6626

Web site: http://www.belo.com/


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