Clock Ticking As Bright House-Fox Talks Continue
Thursday, December 31, 2009 1:14:37 PM
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Chris Fenger of Bright House Networks 12/30/2009
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Reported by Dave D’Marko
ORLANDO — Negotiations are continuing between Bright House Networks and News Corporation, the parent company of the Fox network.
Fox is threatening to pull many of its channels from your Bright House Networks cable lineup if a deal isn’t reached by the midnight New Year’s Eve deadline.
Starting with the Sugar Bowl, popular events and shows on Fox’s family of 11 networks might be pulled off Bright House Networks cable by Fox beginning Jan. 1.
Bright House is working with Fox to keep them from pulling their programming, but Bright House’s Central Florida Division President Chris Fenger said Fox is being unreasonable.
“We have seen dramatic increases in the demands made by owners. This is the latest round, and it’s pretty egregious,” Fenger said.
Fox owns local affiliate WOFL. WOFL sends its programming signal over the air for free. Now Fox wants cable companies – like Bright House Networks and Time Warner - to pay for re-transmitting that over-the-air signal.
That’s in addition to the payment Fox is already receiving for their cable programming.
A News Corporation spokesman e-mailed us the following statement:
“Our position in these negotiations is entirely reasonable — we are simply asking for fair compensation for the impressive value our FOX programming offers.”
The statement also said that Fox will continue to negotiate.
Fenger said Fox’s demands put cable subscribers’ pocketbooks in peril.
“This is a precedent setting negotiation if Fox can get what they are seeking then its going to give license every other programmer out there to make the some sort of demands, and cable bills will skyrocket,” Fenger said.
Since Bright House regularly negotiates dozens of re-transmission agreements each year — most without issue — the issue this time with Fox, could be, according to the Wall Street Journal, that Fox is asking for more than twice what other broadcast networks receive.
Bright House Networks is the parent company of News 13.
[[“Our position in these negotiations is entirely reasonable — we are simply asking for fair compensation for the impressive value our FOX programming offers.”]]
‘Impressive Value’ Eh? I get more enjoyment out of watching Turner Classics than I do any of Fox’s lame stations which repeat mindless material ad nauseum. as for the news- Meh- plenty of conservative sites o nthe net will update our family just fine, and we won’t have to endure windbags like O’Reilly apologizing for the obama administration and making excuses for the left as the left tramples our constutional rights.
Fox keeps braggign about how they re stomping hte competetition, but if they keep tryign crap like htis- they will be trailing hte competetion before long- So yeah fox- keep screwing the public who are already paying WAY MORE than they ought to for crappy TV