Posted on 12/30/2009 6:59:02 PM PST by Justaham
The News Corporation said on Wednesday that it looked doubtful that it would sign a new distribution contract with Time Warner Cable by Thursday night, increasing the likelihood that its Fox stations will be removed from cable lineups in millions of homes.
The News Corporation’s president, Chase Carey, declined an offer by Time Warner Cable to enter binding arbitration. The companies are fighting over how much the cable operator should pay Fox stations for the right to retransmit their shows, sporting events and local newscasts. Fox is demanding about a dollar for each cable subscriber each month, which analysts say could set a precedent for broadcasters that want more money from cable and satellite operators.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Our local station said they aren’t currently paying anything. Fox is asking for $1 per subscriber.
I'll probably spend more time on FR!
Hey TW, how about a price break for the loss of the channel, especially since you just raised my rate?
NewsCorp will charge for newspaper websites, says Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch expects to start charging for access to News Corporation's newspaper websites within a year as he strives to fix a "malfunctioning" business model.
this is messed up. Thats like double what other local stations pay isn’t it?
I would pay $5 a month for streaming internet to Fox news. It pisses me off that my basic package fees funnel money into the likes of cnn and msnbc but I have to pay extra for Fox. Hopefully Fox calls their bluff and offers direct sales to the consumer via the internet. I would gladly cancel my directv to go directly to Fox. I would love to tell them to stick cnn and the rest of their biased garbage up their arse.
I’d get cable if I could pick 10 channels and then pay $10/mo.
perhaps they should take that $1 per subscriber out of cnn’s and msnbc’s take since they aren’t the ones with the ratings.
Satellite TV isn’t affected by this. Just Time Warner and Comcast cable.
You make a good point. Why doesn’t FOX NEWS, who knows damn well what we think, offer streaming realtime video access? I get FNC Audio on channel 121 of XM, but it’s nice to have pictures, especially of the “foxes” ;-)
They could easily collect 2-5X as much from online viewers as they now get from cable/satellite operators. Screw the middleman!
I will drop Time Warner if the even drop FOX NEWS for a day. I have wanted a reason to get DISH.
I ditched comcast for att uverse. Much better.
LOL. 1st they have to find talent they can market, and Fox has systematically hired anyone worth listening to. Maybe Fox will pacify the RATNEWS stations by kicking Geraldo & Juan their way *snort*
Guess I’m glad I get my livestreaming Fox News Channel from TVPC.com for free! Local Fox station also. Can’t seem to find a live stream for CW though, which is a bummer.
Where did Comcast come into this story? Time Warner is their competitor.
I realize satellite TV is not affected by this, but in the event Fox News puts pressure on the satellite providers the same as they are doing to cable, we’re out and refuse to hand over payola to them. Since Fox News is the primo news source, I wouldn’t put it past Murdoch to juice every source he has for more income.
From what I understand, Comcast, Brightouse Networks, and TWC all expect to lose News Corp owned stations (including FOX locals) if they don’t reach an agreement.
Ditto where I live. The cable supplier asked customers to vote whether they wanted to pay more or refuse to play the Fox up-the-ante game. Customers unanimously said they want to refuse to play the game. I say, good for them.
He will when contracts are up with DirecTV and Echostar. It’s all part of doing business.
Then they shouldn't complain when their cable company pulls the plug on the FOX owned stations.
Cable subscribers don’t want to pay more. If they can’t get fox they’ll just switch to a different provider.
It’s what they pay the lower ranked TNT.
I have been considering that. This may push me over the edge.
Kerry: FCC Should Step In To Keep Fox On Time Warner
Calls on agency to intervene if retrans dispute is not resolved
By John Eggerton — Broadcasting & Cable, 12/30/2009 10:35:08 PM
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) has told Fox that if it does not find a way to keep its broadcast signals on the air after the Dec. 31 expiration of its contract with Time Warner, he wants the FCC to step in and mandate that interim carriage.
That came late Wednesday in response to News Corp. President Chase Carey’s letter to Kerry explaining that Fox was not interested in arbitration of the retrans dispute, which Kerry had proposed and Time Warner agreed to.
“This letter is a rejection of arbitration as a solution, but it is silent on alternative mechanisms for keeping the signal on the air post contract expiration,” said Kerry in his statement. “That is my primary goal. If FOX can find an alternative way to achieve that end or reach agreement with TWC before the contract expires, then there is no need for us to act.”
Kerry is concerned about the cable viewers who could wake up without the TV stations that will be carrying big-ticket college bowl games the first week of January.
“If FOX believes that withdrawing programming from 4 million households is its best negotiating tactic,” he said, “then I would ask the FCC to intervene and mandate continued carriage and arbitration...”
Interestingly, I think they will live. Why does Kerry think this is something the government needs to step into?
If I recall the process correctly, the local TV stations can declare that they be carried on the cable system. This was called “must carry.” The other option was to negotiate with the cable company for a fee to be carried.
The TV stations usually only negotiate when they have a vested interest. For example, in smaller markets they need to ad revenue from the 75% of the homes with cable. However, in the larger markets a network like fox has much more leverage.
For example, they carry the NFL, American idol, 24, and some of the other top rated shows on broadcast TV. I am not sure if they have the superbowl, but would certainly be a draw.
Now if I were TW and Fox wanted a buck per sub, then I would pay it, but insist on 2 minutes per hour of ad time across all of their networks. This would give the local TW cable advertising group a massive ability to sell their products (CNN, ESPN, etc.) plus the broadcasters time. Fox would not go for that. It would turn the industry upside down.
TW will pass whatever they pay, right along to the subscribers. And I havent read wether its a buck a month, or a buck a year. Either way its big dollars—right to your wallet.
This is a massive game of chicken, and Fox is choosing one of the weaker players in the industry. This is not unlike the way the Auto Workers negotiate hard with one of the big three to settle their contracts. Then the others fall into line.
You do not see them pulling this crap with Comcast—because Comcast has the power in the industry to tell them to pound sand.
Glad it isnt happening in my town.
This link has all the information. Put in your Zip code to see what comes up as possibly in jeopardy of being lost at midnight tonight. Just saw commercial around here for it.
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