Latest from Next TV in Carriage-contracts

Fox News, FBN Dark To Dish Subscribers

Mike Reynolds — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 12:15:00 +0000

In a carriage dispute, Dish subscribers can no longer see Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network.

As is generally the case, both sides, which faced contract expiration at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Dec. 20, blamed the other for the disconnect.

Typically, when a service disruption occurs it is the programmer that pulls the signal, as the distributor is more than happy to continue to offer the content under the prevailing rate under the extant contract.

However, officials for 21st Century Fox said it was Dish that made the move at about 11:50 p.m. on Saturday night.

“Fox News Channel did not disconnect Dish. Rather, Dish prematurely ceased distribution of Fox News in an attempt to intimidate and sway our negotiations,” said Tim Carry, executive vice president FCN and FBN. “It is unfortunate that the millions of Fox News viewers on Dish were used as pawns by their provider. Hopefully they will vote with their hard earned money and seek another one of our other valued distributors immediately.”

Dish, which earlier in the day reached a renewal with four Comcast SportsNet regional services, offered a different take on the proceedings. The DBS distributor, which has reportedly replaced FNC with Glenn Beck's The Blaze and FBN with CNBC, said it broached a short-term extension offer, with the intent that negotiations would continue, and it was 21st Century Fox that blocked customer access to the two networks as the “media conglomerate introduced other channels into negotiations, despite those channels not being included in the contract up for renewal.”

“It’s like we’re about to close on a house and the realtor is trying to make us buy a new car as well,” said Warren Schlichting, Dish senior vice president of programming. “Fox blacked out two of its news channels, using them as leverage to triple rates on sports and entertainment channels that are not in this contract.”

Schlichting added: “Dish has had a productive relationship with Fox for many years. We regret the service disruption to our customers, and remain committed to reaching an agreement that promptly returns this content to Dish’s programming lineup.”

Carry expressed disappointment, noting the blackout occurred after nearly two decades of uninterrupted service. “We care deeply about our viewers and hope that they will regain access to the number one cable news channel soon. We will continue to work around the clock to reach an agreement with Dish, as we have done with every other pay-TV provider for 18 years. This is the third time in as many months that Dish customers have suffered through a blackout due to Dish’s intransigence. Dish’s record speaks for itself, and makes its rhetoric about ‘reasonable’ agreements ring hollow.”

Indeed, the scorecard shows that it’s been a very busy few weeks for the nation’s No. 2 DBS provider. On Dec. 5 at 7 p.m., CBS pulled the signals for owned-and-operated stations in 18 stations during retransmission-contretemps, before restoring them about 12 hours later on that Saturday morning. CBS, which had granted Dish three extensions, also inked a new pact for Showtime Networks and other cable properties.

Last month, Turner Broadcasting System agreed to an extension, which sources say lasts into March, with Dish, an accord that put eight of its pay TV networks -- CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, truTV, TCM, HLN, CNN en Espanol and Boomerang -- back in front of Dish’s 14 million customers after they went dark on Oct. 20. The Nov. 21 extension also averted a blackout of its flagship TNT and TBS networks.

There also were more peaceful programming notes, Nexstar Broadcasting, after granting a third extension, reached a renewal on Dec. 10 with Dish for 60 network affiliated and local stations in 46 markets.

As alluded to above, Dish has also inked a new deal with the NBC Sports Group for four Comcast SportsNet regionals: Mid-Atlantic, Chicago, Bay Area and California. NBC Sports Group afforded the DBS provider an extension on Dec. 2, ahead of the end of their contract that night.

Although the parties reached a deal on Dec. 19, CSN New England, the home of the NBA Boston Celtics, continues to remain dark to Dish customers. The parties have been out of contract there since Aug. 6

Rebelling Against the Cost Of Content Could Snowball

Mike Farrell — Mon, 05 May 2014 15:15:00 +0000

Over the past several months, small cable operators have taken up the gauntlet regarding programming costs, led by Cable One, which dropped Turner Broadcasting System channels for about three weeks last October and has darkened 15 Viacom networks for nearly a month.

Last week Vyve Broadband, a small-market operator headed by former executives of Bresnan Broadband, threatened to drop Viacom on May 1, and launched an effort it called TV Revolution to fight back against high cost increases.

Vyve said Viacom demanded a price increase that will amount to a doubling of its fees over the next five years. “Although it was a difficult decision to remove the Viacom channels, giving in to their demands would have violated our commitment of providing our customers with the best possible product at the greatest value,” Jeffrey DeMond, Vyve CEO, said in a statement.

Viacom recently turned up the heat on Cable One — in what seems like a retaliatory effort — blocking the operator’s broadband customers from being able to access content on Viacom’s websites. Cable One declined to comment.

“Cable One has chosen to no longer carry Viacom programming and, as a result, it is no longer available to Cable One customers in any form,” Viacom said in a brief statement.

Matt Polka, president and CEO of the American Cable Association, which represents about 900 small cable operators, said the recent stance taken by small cable companies mirror the changes that technology has brought to the industry and what customers are saying they want.

“I think it has a lot to do with what consumers are trying to get on their own, which is more choice and control,” Polka said in an interview. “Our member companies have got a greater sense from their customer base to say, ‘We don’t care as much if we don’t have this programming as we did before because now we have other options.’ ”

Those other options are mainly content available online through a cable broadband connection.

Cable One has been a prime example of how broadband has changed the landscape. It kept its channel offerings at a minimum while focusing on higher broadband speeds. One of its most popular packages is about 40 channels of video bundled with 50 Megabit-per-second Internet service.

“I think that’s smart,” Polka said. “It recognizes a reality that is only going to develop stronger roots.

“Our member companies are more willing to take very tough stands with programmers to say, ‘Look, I’m not compelled or obligated to carry your content, and if you come and seek outrageous rate increases that aren’t sensitive to me or my customers, then we’ll just drop you,’ ” Polka said. Operators see the video business as declining anyway, he added, “compared to broadband, which is what they see as their future.”

The ACA chief said future battles could move beyond the likes of Viacom and see small operators drop high-priced sports networks, primarily regionals.

Regional sports networks carrying local team games have important programming, but as those networks have grown in number and the monthly per-subscriber fees have risen, distributors have been pushing back and not carrying them.

At the start of The Cable Show last week in Los Angeles, city mayor Eric Garcetti called on more pay TV distributors to carry SportsNet LA, Time Warner Cable’s new RSN that carries the Dodgers’ Major League Baseball games. TWC and affiliate Bright House Networks so far are the only major distributors carrying the network.

Polka said that as video subscribers continue to decline, more operators balk at high rate increases and programmers fall short of revenue expectations, Wall Street pressure might make an impact.

“It could [have] a snowball effect,” Polka said. “The race is on then. It would encourage MVPDs to take a stronger stance, to see they can have that kind of effect.”

Panel sessions at The Cable Show debated the point, but Polka said he believes a breaking point over rising programming costs might be coming soon.

“The programmers are only going to keep increasing fees for as long as they can get away with it,” Polka said. “We’ve reached the point where they can’t always get away with it. Maybe a little bit down the road, they’ll never get away with it.”