For Immediate Release

April 17, 2008

Contacts:

Ed RothschildLes Eisner

Podesta GroupThe Lippin Group

202 879-9317323-965-1990

IFTA Calls on FCC to Keep Internet Open

Independents Voice Concern that Competitive Access

Will Be Thwarted By Broadband Providers

PALO ALTO – In testimony presented today to the Federal Communications Commission, the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), the global trade association representing independent producers and distributors of motion pictures and television programs, urged “the FCC to establish rules to prevent network operators from blocking or discriminating against lawful use of the Internet.”

Media consolidation has all but eliminated independent programming from network television and cable and imposed uneconomic conditions on independent film makers, said Jean Prewitt, IFTA’s President and CEO. She testified, “The Internet offers a new route to reach consumers and a new creative medium that will change the very form that story-telling will take. The Commission has the chance now to set down policies that will keep the Internet open and competitively accessible to all users. Neither we, nor the consumers, can afford to have large gatekeepers lock up the Internet as they have locked up television and cable.”

Prewitt’s testimony warned of abuse by gatekeepers based on their claims of “network management.” Prewitt told the FCC Commissioners, “While we acknowledge that there are some legitimate issues related to the technical management of networks, the imprecision of the term offers far too much opportunity for providers to discriminate against some users. We have already seen cases of unequal treatment, a prime example being the decision by Comcast to slow traffic to peer-to-peer sites. Blocking Internet applications and interfering with the public’s ability to access information is discriminatory and must not be a consequence of acceptable network management practices.

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Said Prewitt, “We must not allow a small group of companies to engineer the Internet by reference only to their own financial interests. The interests of the public and other participants in the competitive marketplace must be addressed. There must be transparency, equal treatment and a method of redress when the providers’ private decisions impair fair rights of others and the public interest.”

For a copy of Ms. Prewitt’s statement before the FCC, please visit

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The Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) is the trade association for the independent film and television industry. IFTA is a nonprofit organization that represents more than 180 members from 22 countries, including independent production and distribution companies, sales agents, television companies, studio-affiliated companies and financial institutions engaged in film finance.