Posted on 12/31/2009 10:37:53 AM PST by My Favorite Headache
The impasse between FOX broadcast network and Time Warner Cable continues with less than a day remaining before the cable provider knocks the network and its cable outlets off the dial.
And as each side ratchets up the rhetoric, neither seem willing to show compromise. Could Fox really be gone from homes with Time Warner Cable tomorrow?
The Wall Street Journal explains where things are at right now:
The crux of tensions is a $1 monthly fee News Corp is seeking for local Fox TV stations it owns from each Time Warner Cable TV household. While several owners of broadcast stations have had some success seeking such fees in recent years, amid declines in ad revenue, the Fox network is seeking a much higher fee…People familiar with the matter said Time Warner Cable, one of the country’s biggest cable operators, has offered to pay Fox a similar level of fees as other owners of local TV stations: roughly 25 cents. The price Fox is seeking would set a new bar, and potentially open the floodgates for other media companies that own broadcast TV networks.
And the Los Angeles Times‘ Joe Flint has some specifics on what may happen if no deal is reached:
Besides Los Angeles, where Time Warner Cable has more than 1 million subscribers, other cities that would lose the Fox signals include New York, Dallas and Tampa, Fla. Locally, Time Warner Cable subscribers wouldn’t be able to get KTTV-TV Channel 11 and KCOP-TV Channel 13 as well as FX, Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket. Fox News Channel has a separate agreement with Time Warner Cable and is not affected by these negotiations.
News Corp. President Chase Carey is bracing employees for the probability no deal will be reached, writing in a memo to staff, “it looks like we will not reach an agreement and our channels may very well go off the air in Time Warner Cable systems at midnight.”
As shocking as it sounds, both sides are still holding firm, and the effect will be seen immediately. On New Years Day night, one of the biggest NCAA football bowl games, the Sugar Bowl between Florida and Cincinnati, takes place – and airs on FOX. There will be many angry fans of both teams and sports fans in general if the deal is not reached. The possibility of a last minute deal looms – but as each side remains unwavering, there’s a chance that, for at least a few hours, FOX and its cablers are headed off Time Warner Cable.
Either way, the clock is ticking…
RE: “But if you go to keepfoxon.com it says that Dish network/Directv are not involved in this..I was watching our local news today and the anchor said just switch to directv or dish”
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Yes, BUT, all providers have contracts with networks; this will hit satellite as well; just a matter of time. This is not the first such dispute and won’t be the last.
Put up a decent antenna. You’d be surprised how much better the HD channels look over the air vs. the highly compressed and pixelated cable feed.
Directv has successfully launched Directv 12 and should have 200 HD channels in the first half of 2010.
Charter cable in L.A. area has had the same problems — stations disappearing from plans constantly. A friend just this year lost Oxygen and several other stations she liked. None of this is what you’d call ‘good.’
This is the first I’m hearing about this..still, I am sick of Time Warner Cable..they are way too expensive..at least with Dish they offer more channels
Read the TV guide, you don't need a TV
You even like the Globull Warming Propaganda Channel? I haven't watched them for years, since they went ultra Liberal and started brainwashing their viewers. Not only that, they programming reeeeaalllyy SUCKS. They stopped giving the weather for the most part. Instead, they tell us what kinds of dish soap to use and the cars we need to be driving.
Abrams & Bettis? Wake up with AL? You mean you actually watch that crap?
FOX is running A LOT of ads blaming TWC in the DFW area. I’m sure it’s going on nationwide. TWC is not. FOX is going to win the PR war by doing this.
If you had snow, chances are your dish was moved a bit off signal or the installer did a crappy job. You can quickly fix that yourself with the built in signal aimer that Dish provides.
RE:
“WHAT?
You even like the Globull Warming Propaganda Channel? I haven’t watched them for years, since they went ultra Liberal and started brainwashing their viewers. Not only that, they programming reeeeaalllyy SUCKS. They stopped giving the weather for the most part. Instead, they tell us what kinds of dish soap to use and the cars we need to be driving.
Abrams & Bettis? Wake up with AL? You mean you actually watch that crap?”
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I have no idea what you are blathering about and have never heard of ‘Abranms & Bettis.’
I’m in L.A. and know people at Fox Sports, etc. They, too, are on TWC’s side in this, claiming Fox is being totally unreasonable in its demands. Of course they don’t dare express this view to management....
I had Comcast (still do for broadband Internet) I had Dish for years, they jerked me around and they also transferred their tech support to the Philippines.
I switched to DirecTV, it is much better, it has more HD channels and much better customer support and you can under stand them! ;)
Blathering?
If you watch the Weather channel, how can you miss it? They are on with adds, commercials, etc, all day long.
Or do you leave your brain in a bag the moment you turn on the channel?
I had Dish, now I had DirecTV.
I’ll admit that they probably did cost less and I liked the ability to set up up to four custom guides. I especially liked their split receiver where two rooms could use one receiver. Now that was cool.
Unfortunately, we had trouble with their signal going out more than I’d like. When the dish installer for DirecTV came out, he asked me if we had problems with the signal going out a lot and he said it was because those who installed the dish for Dish didn’t secure the dang thing. I mean, isn’t that Satellite Dish Installation 101? Now, with DirecTV, we rarely have signal outages, even in overcast skies and bad weather.
You get what you pay for, I say. DirecTV may cost more but I like the service, the signal quality is unbeatable and I hear their customer service is far more superior than Dish. I haven’t had to deal with customer service yet so I don’t know.
What I need to know is, as far as Time Warner goes, if we have a digital cable box, do we lose Fox too or is it only for standard cable and TWC
RE: “Blathering?
If you watch the Weather channel, how can you miss it? They are on with adds, commercials, etc, all day long.
Or do you leave your brain in a bag the moment you turn on the channel?”
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Yes, blathering~! I don’t watch the Weather Channel, nor much else. Don’t even really CARE about TV as I only watch Fox News and HGTV and the occasional old movie that might be of interest. I have better things to do than stare at a TV screen.
That is what I thought. Thanks much.
I don’t know who is right or wrong here, but I was commenting on their PR efforts, which usually trump right and wrong.
Love my Dish. Had Directv and hated it. Terrible customer service. With Dish my prices don’t jump every six months or so like with Time Warner. I do miss the internet service from Time Warner. They have great customer service and you are going to love the dual dvr. Have had them for 5 years and have not one bad thing to say about them.
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