TDS Telecom, despite restarting carriage talks earlier this week, said Friday that it failed to reach an agreement with AMC Networks and has dropped the programmer’s channels from its lineup.

TDS had told customers earlier this month that it would drop the AMC Networks channels -- AMC, BBC America, BBC World News, IFC, Sundance TV and WE TV -- on June 10 in part because of the programmer’s practice of shifting original programming to its streaming service AMC Plus. But talks with the network resumed on June 8. 

In an email message Friday (June 11), TDS Telecom director of external affairs & communications Kit Beyer said a deal with the channels couldn’t be reached, but added if the programmer were to strike a favorable deal with the National Cable Television Cooperative, the buying group for about 700 small cable operators across the country, it may reconsider. TDS is a member of NCTC.

“TDS dropped AMC Network channels as planned and communicated to our customers,”  Beyer said in an email message.  “If AMC comes back to NCTC members that no longer carry the network’s channels and offer lower rates or more flexible package options, creating value for consumers in this new environment of streaming services, TDS would review the terms and relaunch the network.”

According to sources in the cable financial community, AMC Networks completed a comprehensive carriage agreement with the NCTC within the past few months. That deal included more than 600 NCTC members with several million customers. The systems that opted out of that deal accounted for less than 150,000 customers, those same sources said.  

TDS Telecom is part of publicly traded Telephone & Data Systems, and provides TV, broadband and phone service to about 1.2 million customers in 32 states across the country and 280,000 cable subscribers in Texas, New Mexico, North Carolina, Colorado, Utah and Oregon (after its purchases of Crestview Cable in 2017 and Bend Broadband in 2014). The AMC Networks negotiation affects "all TDS and Bend Broadband channel lineups," the company said.

 “We value our relationships with all of our distribution partners and appreciate the ability to bring our popular and critically acclaimed content to viewers and fans through these longstanding and mutually beneficial relationships,” AMC Networks said in a statement. “We are currently looking forward to the premiere of an extended final season of The Walking Dead in August, the continuing expansion of The Walking Dead universe with new shows and returning series like Better Call Saul, Killing Eve, Doctor Who, the best nature programming in the world and other highly anticipated new series." 

AMC Networks launched AMC Plus in June 2020, and the service is available through partners like Comcast, AT&T/DirecTV and Dish Network, as well as via Roku, Amazon, Apple TV, YouTube TV and others. AMC said it had more than six million subscribers to all of its streaming services -- AMC Plus  Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now and ALLBLK -- at the end of 2020 and was on track to finish 2021 with 9 million streaming customers. Suggested pricing for AMC Plus through distributors like Comcast and Dish is $6.99 per month, and $8.99 per month through Apple, Amazon and Roku.

Subscribers to the streaming service have early access to some original shows like like Gangs of London and Kevin Can F**k Himself, which were available to AMC Plus customers one week before they debuted on the linear channel. But unlike other streamers, the AMC Plus service says it doesn’t hold back any programming indefinitely from its linear channels.

Other smaller operators have expressed concern over the increasing shift of original programming from linear to streaming offerings. Conway, Arkansas operator Conway TV dropped AMC on June 10, and Massillon, Ohio-based MCTV shed the channels on June 11.

"We did drop AMC effective this morning," MCTV president Katherine Gessner said in an email message Friday. "It was a combination of declining viewership and availability of programming elsewhere on other linear channels and platforms (including on AMC+) that factored in to our decision."

Roku told customers this morning that it is no longer carrying the YouTube TV app in its channel store.

Current subscribers to YouTube TV who have the app installed  will still be able to access the programming they get through the virtual MVPD. Roku users will also continue to have access to the free YouTube app.

But customers who want to start subscribing to YouTube TV will not be able to get the app for Roku devices.

Also Read: There’s More to Roku vs. Google Than the Usual Dollars and Sense

The two sides pointed fingers about how the dispute evolved, with Roku firing first, and YouTube TV calling Roku's assertions about data and search issues "baseless and false."

"We are disappointed that Google has allowed our agreement for the distribution of YouTube TV to expire. Roku has not asked for one dollar of additional financial consideration from Google to renew YouTube TV,” Roku said in a statement. 

The dispute between Roku and Google bubbled up earlier this week when Roku altered subscribers that a blackout of YouTube TV could occur.

“Because our contract has expired, we have removed YouTube TV from our channel store," Roku said. "To continue to provide our users with a great streaming experience, we are taking the extra step to continue to offer existing subscribers access to YouTube TV on the Roku platform unless Google takes actions that require the full removal of the channel. Because of Google's conduct, new subscriptions will not be available going forward until an agreement is reached.” 

Roku said the dispute is not about money but starts with a demand that Roku manipulate search results to favor YouTube TV. Google also wants access to data otherwise not available. 

It also said it is asking Google not to leverage its YouTube monopoly to force Roku to accept hardware requirements that would increase consumer costs or to act in a discriminatory and ant-competitive manner against Roku.

YouTube TV has denied the dispute had anything to do with search.

"We’ve been working with Roku to renew our deal to distribute YouTube TV on their devices. Despite our best efforts to come to an agreement in the best interests of our mutual users, Roku terminated our deal in bad faith amidst our negotiation. Unfortunately, Roku has often engaged in this tactic with other streaming providers," YouTube TV told its subscribers. 

"The most important thing for us is to make sure you are taken care of, and that the experience of our shared users is a good one. As we post this, existing users still have access to YouTube TV on Roku devices. We encourage Roku not to remove the YouTube TV app so that existing users can continue enjoying the service," YouTube TV said. 

YouTube TV laid out its version of the negotiations. It said in its initial conversations with Roku, it sought to renew their agreement under existing terms. 

However, Roku wanted  to  renegotiate a separate deal encompassing the YouTube main app, which does not expire until December, YouTube TV said. 

"Our agreements with partners have technical requirements to ensure a high quality experience on YouTube. Roku requested exceptions that would break the YouTube experience and limit our ability to update YouTube in order to fix issues or add new features," YouTube said.  "For example, by not supporting open-source video codecs, you wouldn’t be able to watch YouTube in 4K HDR or 8K even if you bought a Roku device that supports that resolution. "

YouTube TV said it can't give Roku special treatment, and added that it did not make requests to access user data or interfere with search results. "This claim is baseless and false," it said.

AMC Networks has filed a program carriage complaint against AT&T, charging that the phone company is favoring the networks it owns, such as HBO Max and TNT, over AMC’s channels, such as AMC Network and AMC Plus.

“We have had a long and successful relationship with AT&T and we hope to continue our strong partnership well into the future. We are only asking AT&T to treat our networks fairly and not competitively disadvantage our programming and business interests as compared to the manner in which they treat their own networks like HBO and TNT,” AMC said in a statement.

In its complaint filed with the Federal Communications Commission, AMC said that AT&T was seeking to cut back on how much it pays to carry AMC networks -- while paying its own services more -- and that AT&T wants AMC to keep its content on cable rather than distribute it online and over the top. Details of those charges were redacted in the publicly available version of the suit.

In its complaint, AMC noted that when AT&T was trying to get its acquisition of Time Warner approved, it promised not to discriminate against networks that its networks compete with.

“Now, however, AT&T is attempting to do exactly that. It is attempting to cause severe harm to the smaller independent network AMC, which offers a fresh, independent and diverse voice on MVPDs’ channel lineups that is highly valued by subscribers, for the benefit of AT&T’s competing and similarly situated network TNT and HBO,” the suit alleges.

The suit notes AT&T statements justifying price increases for DirecTV because it is paying more for programming. It also notes that AT&T isn’t seeking to constrain the networks it owns from being online. “To the contrary, HBO and TNT are already carried on a wide variety of online platforms,” the suit said.

AMC is seeking to have AT&T carry AMC and AMC Plus on fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory rates, and to have the FCC impose the maximum fine on AT&T for violating the commission’s rules.

AT&T said AMC's complaint is without merit.

"We treat all programmers fairly and will continue to work with AMC Networks to provide its content at a price that is reasonable to our customers. But, the cost to provide that programming should reflect that AMC Networks’ shows have been declining in popularity as compared to their peers for several years," a spokesperson said. "AMC’s plea to the FCC doesn’t acknowledge our TV services collectively represent only 15% of U.S. television households, and in nearly every market across the country, consumers have two or more competing options that carry AMC Network’s portfolio of channels.“

Less than a week after 17 stations owned and operated by Meredith Corp. went dark to its customers, Dish Network is facing another potential blackout, this time from five networks recently acquired by content behemoth The Walt Disney Co.

Disney networks National Geographic, FX, FXX, FXM and NatGeo Wild are warning customers that they could go dark at 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time on Sunday July 21 if they don’t reach a deal with Dish.

“Our contract with Dish for the FX and National Geographic networks is due to expire soon, so we have a responsibility to make our viewers aware of the potential loss of our programming,” NatGeo and FX said in a statement. “However, we remain fully committed to reaching a deal and are hopeful we can do so.”

Disney purchased the channels as part of its $71.3 billion purchase of certain 21st Century Fox assets in March. 

For Dish, this is the second warning its customers have received of potential blackouts in less than a week. On July 15, Meredith Corp. gave Dish a one-day extension to try to hammer out a retransmission consent deal, but when that deal failed to materialize, the stations went dark on July 16. 

The month of July has been an active one for retrans disputes -- Nexstar Media Group pulled the signals for 126 stations in 97 markets from DirecTV, DirecTV Now and AT&T U-Verse customers on July 3, less than a week after 17 stations in 14 markets pulled the plug. On July 19, about 19 CBS stations went dark to AT&T U-Verse, DirecTV Now customers.  In addition, DirecTV Now customers lost access to CBS network programming and the Smithsonian Channel, while DirecTV customers also lost access to CBS Sports Network. 

As Dish and HBO bring their dispute into the weekend, a battle that is a first for the premium network, influential media analyst Craig Moffett warned industry observers not to lose sight that while money is still at the heart of the impasse, there are other factors that could have broader implications for the satellite company.

Dish announced on Oct. 31 that HBO and its sister premium channel Cinemax went dark to the satellite service’s subscribers after the parties failed to reach a carriage agreement. While their statement was a lot like those during similar carriage disputes, there was one glaring difference. About half way down the release, Dish noted that HBO’s new parent AT&T was demanding that Dish pay for a guaranteed number of subscribers, regardless of how many people actually pay for the service.

Mandatory minimums are nothing new in the programming business. They are quite common with traditional pay TV networks -- basically solved by placing a network on the widest available service tier. They are a little trickier with premium channels, which are offered a la carte, but for the most part are within reason for most operators.

AT&T has been talking a lot recently about how it wants to increase engagement for its networks, mainly the former Time Warner channels it purchased earlier this year, including HBO. AT&T brass have said several times over the past several months about how they don’t want subscribers in the millions, they want viewers in the tens of millions. And WarnerMedia chief John Stankey has been quoted as saying that HBO, which has about 40 million subscribers in the U.S., needs to increase that base significantly, driving more daily engagement with the network and breaking through 35% to 40% penetration levels. 

While that is going to require some stepped up efforts from distributors, it could be particularly hard for Dish. MoffettNathanson estimates that Dish’s HBO penetration is about 20% of its customers, compared to 30% for the rest of the industry. And Dish customers tend to live in more rural areas and have lower incomes than those in larger markets, so getting them to fork up another $15 per month for HBO won’t be as easy. What’s more, Dish customers don’t have ready access to high-speed broadband service -- most rural areas have slower speed DSL service and Dish’s satellite-delivered high-speed data service is expensive and its coverage is spotty at best. So not all of its customers have the option of just “getting the app” and picking up HBO’s standalone OTT offering, HBO Now.

Another thorn in Dish’s side is that AT&T is offering free HBO to AT&T Wireless subscribers with unlimited data plans as part of its AT&T Unlimited & More Premium plan. 

In a blog post, Moffett wrote that Dish’s dilemma is, should they pay full price for HBO, spend more money marketing it to customers and accept increased subscriber minimums when the premium channel is being given away for free to its competitors’ wireless and satellite TV customers?

Dish’s obvious answer, at least for the time being, is no.

Timing, like everything else, is critical. Dish could potentially lose a lot of subscribers if this dispute lasts for a lengthy period -- it is estimated that about 2.5 million of its 13 million customers subscribe to HBO.

But the other option isn’t any better.

“[I]f they agree to AT&T’s terms, they will instead see already unattractive economics get even more unattractive,” Moffett wrote.

Dish could ultimately drop HBO, which wouldn’t be a huge surprise, it has other lengthy blackouts and has refused to carry some regional sports networks. But that too, has other wider connotations.

“[C]ollectively, the steady drip, drip, drip of lost programming sends a rather unsettling message, both to their subscribers and to their equity investors: Dish is exiting the video business in steps,” Moffett wrote. “What Dish seems to be signaling with all of these blackouts is, well, that they don’t really care much about the video business anymore. It’s not just that individual pieces of programming don’t make sense. It’s that the economics of the whole bundle don’t make sense.”

In the wake of over-the-top video and virtual MVPDs -- like Dish’s own Sling TV service -- traditional pay TV distributors have already begun to de-emphasize video. Comcast has taken to calling itself a connectivity company and has focused on single-play high-speed data growth. Cable One has been the most aggressive, focusing on broadband for years over video with surprisingly good results.

But the difference is that cable operators have broadband to fall back on. Dish is a pure-play video company. Even if they decide to abandon the satellite business and migrate those 10.7 million customers to Sling TV (which has about 2.3 million subscribers), it could take a long time, not to mention that they would trade a $85 per month customer for a $20 per month customer.

Dish has been vocal about the decline of the satellite business -- it was the reason it started Sling TV in the first place -- and chairman Charlie Ergen has been more than willing to voice his opinions about the changing marketplace. He’ll likely get an opportunity to voice his opinions about premium channels next week -- Dish’s Q3 conference call with analysts to discuss Q3 results is scheduled for noon on Nov. 7. 

After about five weeks in the dark, Altice USA customers will get access to the Starz premium channel, after the companies reached a long-term carriage deal that also allows the cable operator to sell the programmer’s standalone app to its customers.  

Starz went dark to Altice customers on Jan.1, mainly because of pricing. Altice USA was particularly peeved that the premium channel offered its standalone app to customers for $8.99 per month. Altice USA charged about $11.95 per month for the service. What followed was a sometimes contentious back and forth between the two companies, including filing petitions with the Federal Communications Commission to intervene.

Those differences appear to have been ironed out with the new deal, which includes the full suite of Starz and Starz Encore premium linear and HD channels, On-Demand, HD On-Demand and online services across the Optimum and Suddenlink cable systems. The agreement also allows for Altice USA to sell the Starz App to their customers on the new Altice One entertainment service, as well as broader digital rights including TV Everywhere. The deal also secures Starz's packaging position and expands its subscriber base.

“Our goal is to give customers the flexibility, choice and entertainment they want at a great value, and we appreciate their patience while we worked to reach a deal that was in their best interest,” said Hakim Boubazine, co-president and chief operating officer of Altice USA in a statement. “Through this new expanded arrangement, we are pleased to provide Starz’s wide array of programming on traditional and digital platforms, and look forward to working with Starz to continue to serve the diverse needs of our customer base across the U.S.”

Jeffrey Hirsch, Starz chief operating officer, said: “Starz is very pleased that both companies found a mutually beneficial way to expand our relationship over the next several years to offer the best content possible to millions of Altice USA subscribers. In addition to the thousands of blockbuster and library movies Starz offers, we believe Altice USA values our company’s programming commitment to create and deliver premium quality original series that serve traditionally underserved audiences. By working together, both companies are in a stronger position to provide the best content and products to our shared customers.”

For more information about channel line ups and timing, Optimum customers can visit Optimum.net/starz and Suddenlink customers can visit Suddenlink.com/starz.

(Photo credit: Howard Silk/Howard Prime.)

Rapper, producer and entrepreneur Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson took the ongoing carriage feud between Starz and Altice USA seemingly to an extreme Friday, posting a video of himself following an Optimum cable technician van in New Jersey and apparently contemplating ramming the tech’s vehicle with his own car.

Whether Jackson, who serves as a producer and co-star of Starz original series Power, was joking or not — and a lot of his followers appear to think he was joking — Optimum parent Altice USA clearly was not amused. “The safety of our employees and customers is our number one priority and it is outrageous that a commercial dispute has led to the threat of violence against our employees,” Altice USA told Multichannel News in a statement. “This behavior is reprehensible and should not be tolerated, and we will do everything in our power to protect our employees following this public threat of violence.”

The Starz premium channel has been dark to Altice USA’s Optimum and Suddenlink customers since Jan. 1 after the parties failed to reach a carriage agreement. Altice claims that Starz wanted rate increases that would make it difficult to compete with the channel’s own standalone app, which is available for $8.99 per month. Optimum charges $11.95 per month for Starz service.

The video shows Jackson, acting in a manner similar to his gangster character Kanan in Power, driving behind an Optimum service truck, making several profanity laced statements and threatening to ram his car into the back of the truck.

“I’m fina start running down on these n****s. LOL #denofthievesintheaters,” Jackson wrote in a comment on the post. Den of Thieves is a movie starring Jackson, Gerard Butler and Pablo Schreiber that opened in theaters Friday. Jackson plays Levi Enson, one of three elite criminals who set out to rob the Federal Reserve bank in Los Angeles.

Starz declined to comment. Power, according to some reports, has a strong following in the New York area -- where Optimum operates -- and stands to lose a large chunk of viewership the longer the blackout lasts. That may be the reason Jackson appears so upset in the video. This isn't the first Instagram post he has made about the carriage dispute -- he has made others urging customers to contact Optimum to get Starz back on the air.

This is just the latest  in what is becoming an increasingly contentious battle between Starz and Altice USA. Earlier Friday, Starz said it had filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, asking the agency to force Optimum to carry Starz because it did not give customers 30 days' notice that the channel was going to be blacked out. Altice USA said the charges were without merit.

Charter Communications’ carriage deal with Viacom expires on Sunday (Oct. 15), but most analysts believe it will likely, despite the early hype, end with a deal that keeps the youth-oriented networks on its cable systems.

Viacom has already warned Charter customers that they could lose access to their networks, including MTV, BET, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Comedy Central and Spike TV, adding in a statement earlier this week that it has offered Charter a deal consistent with what it has offered other distributors and is lower than what Charter is currently paying.

“Viacom has made a series of very attractive offers to Charter that are consistent with terms we’ve recently reached with other large cable operators,” Viacom said in its statement. “Importantly, these offers would enable Charter to lower Spectrum subscribers’ bills, while also giving them more access to shows across Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and other Viacom networks.”

Earlier this year Charter began moving Viacom channels to its priciest tier, a practice that Viacom CEO Bob Bakish said was likely in violation of its agreement. Bakish also said that Viacom was discussing the matter with Charter, and that he saw no reason to enlist the help of the courts.

Viacom stock took a beating earlier this week after Citigroup analyst Jason Bazinet slapped a "sell" rating on the stock and speculated that Charter would drop at least some of the Viacom networks. Viacom shares fell more than 6% on Oct. 9, a seven-year low. But investors may have had a change of heart – or saw a buying opportunity – as the stock rebounded on Oct. 13, closing at $26 per share, up 5.8%.

Once a must-have group of networks, years of declining ratings and competition from Netflix and over-the-top players have eroded Viacom’s status among programmers. The channels were dropped by Cable One in 2014 and are still dark to that mid-sized operator’s 400,000 video customers. Suddenlink Communications dropped the channels that same year, but that operator, now part of Altice USA, restored the channels in a deal reached in May. 

While many pundits have pointed to Viacom’s increasing vulnerability, the deal comes on the heels of another so-called vulnerable network – Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN – which reached a carriage deal with Altice USA earlier this month that many saw as favorable to the programmer.

While Disney had other networks involved in that negotiation too – its ABC broadcast network and cable channels Freeform and Disney Channel – many believed that ESPN’s recent subscriber losses would put it at a disadvantage. That apparently didn’t happen.

Viacom may be in a different position, but it should be able to weather the storm too. In a research note, Morgan Stanley media analyst Ben Swinburne wrote that although years of falling ratings, high sports costs that squeeze entertainment budgets and distributor consolidation could put Viacom at a disadvantage, it has managed to eke out 4% increases in affiliate fees with several distributors, including AT&T-DirecTV,Dish and Altice USA.

Charter may have a scale advantage – with 16.6 million video customers, it is the second largest cable operator in the country behind Comcast, which Swinburne suspects has quietly renewed it existing Viacom deal past 2020. But Viacom networks also control between 15% and 20% of total TV viewership, which has to factor into any Charter decision making on whether to carry the channels.

Another factor: although Charter is testing a sports-free skinny bundle that also is sans Viacom channels, it sees the greatest potential in a robust product offering that includes video.  

“Charter is in an increasingly competitive video market, and historically has bucked the skinny bundle trend by pushing more value to consumers,” Swinburne wrote. “In fact, it continues to churn off its limited basic sub base and sell only a fuller expanded basic bundle.”

Pivotal Research Group CEO and senior media and communications analysts agreed that Viacom has seen better days, but he didn’t think Charter, or any other large distributor, was ready to risk going without the channels.

“Today Viacom is realistically the only large media player distributors can push back against,” Wlodarczak said.  “I think they will go down to the wire and they will sign a deal.”

He pointed to Charter CEO Tom Rutledge’s prediction that the company would have more video customers in three years than it has today.

“I doubt he can do that without Viacom programming,” Wlodarczak said, adding that it may not be the case in the long-term, not just for Viacom but for any programmer.

“I think this is the last programming renewal that media companies will see any kind of increase,” Wlodarczak said. “The next push for higher fees a couple of years from I expect distributors to finally say, ‘No más.’”

Univision Communications, locked in a months-long legal battle with Charter Communications regarding carriage fees, finally pulled the trigger early Wednesday, darkening its Spanish language television stations and networks to Charter customers across the country.

Univision sued Charter in July over what it said was the cable operator’s refusal to pay it the fees it beleived it was contracted to receive. Charter, which completed its $80 billion purchase of Time Warner Cable in May, had been paying the lower Time Warner Cable rate for legacy Charter systems. Since Time Warner Cable was the larger of the two entities before they merged – TWC had 11 million video customers compared to Charter’s 4.1 million – the fees it paid the network were considerably smaller.

Univision’s suit was followed by other litigation by 21st Century Fox and Showtime, which had similar arguments.

Related: Computer Companies Side With Univision in Charter Carriage Fight

Univision had warned that it may have to pull its signal from Charter customers if a deal wasn't reached. In a statement, Univision said it had tried unsuccessfully to reach an agreement with the distributor.

“Charter Communications has continually rejected all of UCI’s repeated, good-faith efforts to reach an agreement,” Univision said in a statement. “As a result, Charter has decided to deny its subscribers continued access to Hispanic America’s most popular entertainment and sports, and most trusted news content.”

Charter has been steadfast in its refusal to budge, claiming that it is adhering to the letter of its agreement with the programmer.

 "We have a contract with Univision and we expect them to honor it," Charter said in a statement.

Univision said Charter customers have supported the programmer’s stance through an “outpouring of calls” to the cable operator, but still no deal has been reached.

Univision is the largest Spanish language broadcaster in the U.S. with about 23 stations across the country, including in major Hispanic markets like Los Angeles and New York, which also happen to be Charter strongholds. Its portfolio includes the UniMas broadcast network and cable network Galavision, UDN, Fusion and a minority stake in El Rey Network. Univision argues that the loss of the stations could leave a large segment of the population without a voice.

“Charter has an obligation to its customers to provide them with access to content that is in-language and in-culture, which is vitally important during these politically volatile times,” Univision said in a statement. “This is part of a continuing fight against mega mergers to ensure that there are diverse voices and opportunities for minorities in the media marketplace. Univision’s top priority remains steadfast: providing critical news and information to empower and serve the Hispanic community. We are ready to resume good faith negotiations immediately and hope Charter will do what is right for its Hispanic customers.”

The Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network turned up the heat a notch in its ongoing carriage dispute with Comcast, enlisting top New York Yankees players like CC Sabathia in TV spots urging fans to switch cable providers and even offering customers a few choice words to ask the cable provider when they call to cancel service.

Comcast dropped YES in November after what it called the regional sports network’s demands for an exorbitant price increase. The blackout affects about 900,000 Comcast customers in the New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Earlier this month, a group of 30 Connecticut state legislators wrote a letter to Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts and YES CEO Tracy Dolgin to settle their differences and bring the network back to Comcast customers.

YES began a campaign earlier this month to inform Yankees fans of the dispute and to urge them to switch providers if they want to see the team’s Opening day contest, scheduled for April 4. the network has enlisted a few top Yankees in TV spots and print ads, including third baseman Alex Rodriquez, pitcher Dellin Betances and the latest, pitcher CC Sabathia.

In the spot, Sabathia tells viewers he’s getting ready for another exciting season of Yankees baseball, “But if you’re a Comcast Xfinity customer, you will not be able to watch any of the Yankees’ games this season.”

On its website – keepyesnetwork.com – the channel also offers links for customers to get YES from another provider, call Comcast and keep up with news around the blackout. In addition, the channel offers a list of seven questions to ask the distributor when it calls to drop service. Here are a few:

• “So you’ve made ‘steady improvements’ to your customer service but you dropped Yes Network, my rates went up and I’m going to miss the Yankees on YES this season !?!?
• “So you’ll keep the Mets on SNY, a network Comcast owns, but have no problem taking my Yankees away? That’s so wrong!”
• “Fans who receive YES Network through their provider can stream games on their mobile device for free. How come Comcast isn’t providing that option for me?”  

Alaskan cable operator GCI is throwing down the gauntlet against high programming rate increases, telling customers Monday that it will not renew carriage of AMC Networks and Univision because their proposed rate increases are too high.

AMC has been in a carriage dispute with the National Cable Television Cooperative over its carriage deal, with more than 70 members of the buying co-op telling customers that they may drop the channel. But that deal does not expire until Dec. 31, and there appears to be some chance that a deal could be done.

In a statement Dec. 28, GCI, which is the largest cable operator in Alaska, said beginning Jan. 1 it will no longer carry AMC Networks outlets AMC, WeTV, IFC and IFC Films (BBC America will still be available) adding that proposed 200% increase for all of the AMC Networks brands was too much to pass on to customers. It also will stop carrying Spanish language broadcaster Univision, for similar reasons.

GCI, which is a member of the NCTC, said it will add several new channels to its 2016 lineup, including One World Sports, Discovery Family and Outside Television.

GCI is encouraging customers to access AMC programming like The Walking Dead through the VUDU app on its TiVo boxes, as well as through a growing list of online services. Whether AMC will be able to block that access if there is no deal with the cable operator, was not clear.

UPDATE: Univision Communications Inc. told Multichannel News in a statement Tuesday that "UCI is committed to reaching a fair agreement with all of our distributors. Despite us making every effort over the last several months to reach a deal with General Communication, Inc. (GCI), we were surprised and disappointed to learn of their plans to no longer offer the Univision Network to their customers in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau, Alaska. UCI's mission is to entertain, empower and inform our community, which is why we continue to invest in the technology and content to better serve our loyal audiences. Univision's news, entertainment and sports programming are a lifeline for our viewers and we will continue to work diligently to reach a mutually beneficial agreement with GCI."

GCI, through a spokesman, elaborated that "Univision’s expensive programming proposal would result in increased costs and just didn’t make sense for GCI customers. Luckily, our subscribers have more choices than ever about what they watch and how they watch it. GCI carries other Spanish-language options including Telemundo, more than 40 Spanish-language films on GCI on Demand, and 50+ channels with SAP Spanish feeds plus all the additional content available through GCI’s TiVo service, including Netflix, VUDU and YouTube."

AMC officials were not immediately available for comment.

“We know Alaska ‘Walking Dead’ fans will be disappointed that AMC’s sky-high rates prevent GCI from carrying the show on our traditional TV lineup,” GCI vice president of content and product management Bob Ormberg said in a statement. “The good news is that our customers have more viewing choices than ever before and GCI has made sure that fans can watch ‘The Walking Dead’ by other methods with GCI so they won’t miss an episode when season 6 resumes in February.” 

To encourage existing customers to explore new content available through apps such as VUDU and Netflix, GCI is offering its TiVo customers a $50 Visa gift card. Customers can request the gift card by calling 844-754-3711.

Cable One, which has been in a heated dispute with Viacom over carriage fees for nearly 11 months, reported fourth quarter subscriber losses of about 25,000 basic video customers, slightly above the previous quarter’s decline.

Cable One ended the period with 451,217 basic video subscribers, down 25,016 from the 476,233 it reported in the third quarter. High-speed data customers rose by 2,300 to 488,454 in the period while phone customers dipped by about 15,000 to 149,513 subscribers.

Cable One dropped about 15 Viacom networks – including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon – on April 1. While quarterly subscriber losses have doubled since it dropped the channels – Cable One lost about 14,000 basic video customers in the first quarter, before the Viacom dispute – the declines seem to be leveling off. Cable One lost about 22,000 basic video customers in the third quarter.

Cable One parent Graham Holdings, which plans to spin off the cable unit in a separate publicly traded company this year, said in a statement that it has been de-emphasizing video service in favor of high-speed data and business services.

“Due to rapidly rising programming costs and shrinking margins, video sales now have less value and emphasis,” Graham Holdings said in a statement.

That new emphasis seems to be playing out in the numbers. Residential high-speed data revenue increased 5.3% for the full year on 2.5% customer growth, and business sales increased 18.5% on a 14.9% increase in business high-speed data customers. Overall, business sales comprised 8.9% of total revenue for 2014, compared with 7.4% of total revenue for 2013.

Dish Network, locked in a lengthy carriage dispute with 21st Century Fox cable channels Fox News Chanel and Fox Business Network, managed to reach a smaller retrans pact with two Maryland stations on Dec. 31.

While the cable battle rages on – as do retrans disputes with three North Carolina stations, owned by Capitol Broadcasting, WRAL (CBS) and WRAZ (Fox) in Raleigh, N.C. and WILM (CBS) in Wilmington, N.C. – Draper Holdings Business Trust, owner of WBOC (CBS) and Fox 21 (Fox) in Salisbury, Md., said it had reached a deal with the satellite TV company.

"WBOC-TV and FOX21 are pleased to announce we will continue to be available to Dish subscribers,” the stations said in a statement. “We have reached an agreement designed to secure continued carriage of our top-rated stations on Dish for the foreseeable future. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for the support and understanding our family, friends and neighbors here on Delmarva have demonstrated this week."

(Updated: 10:35 a.m. on Nov. 28)

Fox affiliate WFXT-TV remains unavailable to Verizon FiOS customers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in a retransmission-consent dispute.

The Boston-based station, owned by Cox Media Group, went dark to the telco’s customers at 3 a.m. on Thanksgiving after the parties failed to reach a renewal accord. That meant that some 400,000 FiOS customers missed the Dallas Cowboys’ Turkey Day turkey against the Philadelphia Eagles and may be without Fox’s NFL lineup on Sunday.     

At presstime, WFXT-TV’s website  was topped by a notice headlined "Attention: Verizon FiOS Customers," alerting them to the disconnect and urging them to call the video provider. The following message appears upon clicking the box.

“We are sorry that our viewers that subscribe to Verizon FiOS have lost access to FOX 25. By law, FOX 25 must negotiate carriage agreements with cable companies like Verizon FiOS. Usually, these deals are reached without any disruption to your service. In fact, our company has negotiated dozens of agreements with only the rarest of disruptions. Unfortunately, so far,Verizon FiOS has refused to reach a fair, market-based deal to carry FOX 25. . Our existing agreement with Verizon FiOS has expired, and we cannot provide Verizon FiOS customers with live access to their favorite FOX programs until a new deal is reached.

We are continuing to negotiate with Verizon FiOS, but Verizon has refused to agree to reasonable terms for the valuable programming we provide. See more frequently asked questions here.

If you want to regain live access to your favorite shows on FOX 25 like NFL coverage on Sunday, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Bones,The Simpsons, Gotham, New Girl, Sleepy Hollow and the FOX 25 News, call Verizon FiOS at 1-800-837-4966 and tell them to BRING BACK FOX 25.”

Verizon issued the following statement: "Unfortunately, new station owners Cox Media Group neglected the wishes of their own viewers and removed its FOX channel(s) from the FiOS TV lineup on Nov. 27 at 3 a.m., repeating a step they’ve taken before in other markets. In the past two years Cox has blacked out viewers in at least 11 different markets, according to the American Television Alliance. We are hopeful that Cox will reconsider these drastic and anticompetitive tactics, return to the negotiations, reduce its demands for millions more in fees and work with Verizon to reach an agreement that is reasonable and in its own viewers’ best interest. Overall content costs have risen cumulatively 20-30 percent since 2010. Verizon is taking a stand for our customers.  Verizon customers can check our website, www.verizon.com/content, for any updates, as negotiations with Cox Media Group continue."

The American Television Alliance sized up the situation following the Thanksgiving Day disconnect thusly:  "The biggest turkey today is Cox, who is taking away the NFL and other programming from Americans who just want to watch TV with their families.  By putting profits ahead of consumers on a national holiday, broadcasters are showing their true colors. Cox has blacked out viewers in at least 12 markets in just the last few years, proving that blackouts are a central part of their business model.  On behalf of these viewers, thanks, but no thanks for the blackout, Cox; how about giving us our local TV station back?"

The battle of words and messaging have escalated in the Comcast SportsNet and Dish carriage contretemps.

Comcast SportsNet last night initiated a multimedia campaign warning that four more of its regional sports networks – Bay Area, California, Mid-Atlantic and Chicago -- may become unavailable to the No. 2 DBS provider’s subscribers early next month.  The contracts are slated to expire at the end of Dec. 1, with the RSNs potentially going dark at 12:01 a.m. the next day.

CSN New England, home of the NBA Boston Celtics, has been off of Dish's air since Aug. 1 in a carriage dispute. Charlie Ergen's company has never carried CSN Philadelphia and CSN Northwest, or the recently shuttered CSN Houston.  It previously distributed New York Mets-centric SNY, which NBC Sports Group operates and holds a stake in.

On Nov. 20, NBC Sports Group publicly expressed concern that with the expiration of the four RSNs' contracts drawing nigh, Dish has been unwilling to “work toward mutually acceptable terms” for a renewal. In turn, Dish said the RSNs were seeking a 20% increase in monthly license fee for 90% of its customers in the attendant markets, even though the RSNs are only watched by a “small fraction” of the sub bases. The DBS company called this “heavy-handed tactic troubling” in light of Comcast's proposed merger with Time Warner Cable that would give it more power to leverage content in “anticompetitive ways.”

NBCUniversal returned fire saying its asking price is in line with contracted market rates for its RSNs: “We are seeking to license our regional sports networks to Dish on the same terms that other distributors have accepted for this programming. Our rates are reflective of the very high value of this programming, a value that is recognized by consumers through the increased ratings for these RSNs. Collectively, these RSNs present 2,200 live sporting events annually, and live sports account for the vast majority of the highest rated programming in the country. Comcast has nothing to do with this dispute, which is 100 percent created by Dish's unwillingness to negotiate for comparable terms of carriage set by the market. As with Dish's current disputes with Turner and CBS, and its well-established history of unreasonable negotiating tactics that unfairly target consumers, this dispute is not at all impacted by Comcast's pending merger with Time Warner Cable."

NBC Sports Group also pointed out that 96% of its RSNs’ games were watched live, and that CSN Bay Area, home to the World Series champion San Francisco Giants and the NBA Golden State Warrior telecasts, was the highest-rated cable network in San Francisco DMA through the first nine months of 2014 among viewers and adults 18 to 49.

Additionally, it reported significant ratings bumps during the first month of the NBA season versus 2013: 78% for CSN Chicago with Bulls telecasts; 50% for CSN California for Sacramento Kings games; 44% for CSN New England with the Celtics; and 50% and 30% for Mid-Atlantic with Wizards’ action in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., respectively.

NBC Sports Group also took to the offensive on the RSNs' websites on Nov. 20, asking subscribers to call Dish. A right-column position on CSNMidatlantic.com reads: "I want my Wizards and Capitals and Dish may drop Comcast SportsNet. Take Action. Call Dish Now. 1-888-I-Want-CSN or Visit I Want CSN.com"

Linearly, Dish subscribers began hearing on-air reads and seeing on-air crawls and promos during last night’s schedule. For instance, CSN Chicago is running ads saying: "Attention Dish customers. What if you could no longer watch all your local Bulls, Blackhawks, Sox and Cub games. If Dish drops Comcast SportsNet, that's what's going to happen."

Dish, which in 2010-11 was without CSN California for 10 weeks in a contract dispute, today reached a short-term extension with Turner Broadcasting System to return eight of its networks to the DBS provider’s air and keep TNT and TBS from going dark.

Yesterday, it also reached a contract extension with CBS, whereby the parties are continuing to negotiate toward a renewal for the broadcaster’s owned-and-operated stations and cable properties, including premium service Showtime.

Turner Broadcasting Networks CEO John Martin escalated the war of words with Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen Wednesday, adding that was surprised with the  satellite company's decision to drop its channels, adding that it seemed to center on Turner's inability to extend an expiration date for a channel that wasn’t up for renewal.

Turner channels CNN, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, CNN en Español, HLN, truTV and Turner Classic Movies went dark to Dish’s 14 million customers on Oct. 20.On Tuesday, Ergen said that the company was ready to keep the channels off the air for the long haul, adding that Turner programming can be found through other sources.

On a conference call with analysts Wednesday to discuss quarterly results, Martin said he was stumped as to why Dish did not accept Turner’s carriage proposals, especially since the two had essentially agreed on terms weeks before.

“We disagree with virtually everything he [Ergen] said,” Martin said. "We were both disappointed in the very aggressive and antagonistic nature of his comments."

Martin added that Turner had even essentialy reached an agreement concerning Dish's planned over-the-top service, but Turner's participation in that service is unclear now.

"While there clearly were more deal points to get done, they are not of the type of nature that would result in networks going dark,” Martin continued. “All of us sitting around the table have been in this industry a long time, so we have a pretty good sense of what those are. It’s unclear exactly what the dispute with Dish is. We were told by them we were taken down because we wouldn’t move an expiration date later into the year.”

He added those networks weren’t up for renewal yet, which has led to some speculation that they are the TNT and TBS, which are expected to come up for renewal in the next month or so.

Ergen said Tuesday that losing TNT and TBS could be "more painful" and result in a loss of customers, but he was willing to sacrifice short term gains for longer term health.

“It would be a little but tougher if their original programming was a success like AMC,” Ergen said, adding that other Turner fare like reruns and even the NBA are available through other sources.

“When you start having a lot of your product being available [through] a lot of different sources, customers don’t want to pay for it twice,” Ergen said. “Sometimes they’re willing to watch it the next day or the next week in a more convenient structure, because young people are not watching stuff live now, except ESPN,” he added.

Dish officials did not immediately return requests for comment.

Entering the seventh month of its carriage dispute with Viacom, Cable One said its video business has “less value and emphasis,” indicating that the small-market operator may be contemplating exiting from or at least downplaying its video business.

Cable One ended the third quarter with 476,233 basic-video customers, a loss of about 14,076 subscribers. That is a slight improvement over the 14,643 basic-video subscribers it lost in the third quarter last year and vastly better than the 34,000 it lost in the second quarter of this year.

Cable One threw down the programming- cost gauntlet on April 1, opting not to accept a carriage proposal from Viacom that it believed was too costly. As a result, 15 Viacom-owned networks — including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central — went dark to Cable One customers in about 19 states.

Cable One at the time said it did not believe its customers valued the Viacom channels so highly.

While the third-quarter results could indicate subscriber losses are beginning to level off, Cable One said the video customer count is down about 15% since the third quarter of 2013, and said the video business is not as desirable as it used to be.

“Due to rapidly rising programming costs and shrinking margins, video sales now have less value and emphasis,” Cable One owner Graham Holdings said, noting that “programming costs have been reduced significantly.”

Cable One spokeswoman Patricia Niemann did not return calls for comment by press time.

Cable One, operating in markets such as Odessa, Texas, and Winslow, Ariz., has been de-emphasizing video for years: one of its most popular packages bundles about 50 channels with high-speed Internet.

Companies like it and Seattle-based Wave Broadband are focusing less on video programming and more on building gateways to let customers tap into over-the-top services, including Netflix, via their home DVRs.

Pivotal Research Group principal and senior media and communications analyst Jeff Wlodarczak said that for smaller operators, making video a lower priority is almost inevitable.

“Scale matters in cable,” he said, and some smaller operators might be hoping to get swooped up in the consolidation wave that is expected after the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger is completed next year.

“I don’t think it is, frankly, a great idea to get out of the video business, but smaller operators such as Cable One are in between a rock and hard place,” Wlodarczak said. “If they push back and stop carrying programming, they run the risk of losing their high per-capita income video subscriber. If they don’t [push back], they will have to continue to raise their video prices and lose their more price-sensitive pay TV subscriber to alternatives. If I were a small cable player, your best move right now, before you lose a material percentage of your video subscribers, is to sell out.”

A handful of Turner Broadcasting System networks went dark to Dish customers across the country on Oct. 20, after the parties could not reach a carriage agreement.

In a statement, Dish said the affected networks include Boomerang, Cartoon Network, CNN, CNN en Español, HLN, truTV and Turner Classic Movies.

“In the past year, Dish has successfully renewed agreements with many large content providers,” said Dish senior vce president of programming Warren Schlichting said in a statement. “As a result, we are confident that we have offered a deal to Turner that reflects an appropriate value for our customers.”

The dispute apparently doesn’t include Turner networks like TNT and TBS. On a website dedicated to such disputes – www.DishStandsForYou.com -- the satellite company said Turner is “making unreasonable financial demands” for the channels and that Dish is working around the clock to resolve the dispute. Dish has about 14 million subscribers across the country.

“Dish has had a productive relationship with Turner Networks for many years,” Schlichting said in a statement. “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.”

In its own statement, Turner said that despite its best efforts, Dish and the programmer were unable to reach a deal in time.

“Turner has worked diligently for months to come to a fair agreement including multiple extensions and compromises, and it’s unfortunate that Dish is once again operating in a disruptive manner that takes away networks and programming from their customers,” Turner said in the statement. “We are hopeful our counterparts will return to the negotiating table, and we’ll get a deal completed.”

Suddenlink Communications continues to rack up carriage deals in the wake of its decision to pass on Viacom’s suite of cable networks, most recently reaching a broad, multi-year deal with Entertainment Studios' Comedy.TV.

The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, is one of several that Suddenlink has reached in the days after it failed to reach a carriage agreement with Viacom, parent of MTV, Comedy Central, VH1 and Nickelodeon. Since the Viacom channels went dark on Oct. 1,  Suddenlink has teed up about 20 additional channels as replacements, and has reached carriage deals with Revolt TV, CBS, RLTV, The Blaze, Sprout, Discovery Communications, Up and Aspire.

“Our goal and commitment is to provide Suddenlink and their valuable customers the very best in comedy,” Entertainment Studios founder, chairman and CEO Byron Allen said in a statement. “Our new affiliation with Suddenlink is another big step in bringing Comedy.TV to more viewers in nearly 90 U.S. television markets.”

Entertainment Studios owns seven 24-hour networks – Comedy.TV, Recipe.TV, Cars.TV, ES.TV, Mydestination.TV and JusticeCentral.TV – and produces, distributes and sells advertising for 37 television programs. With a library of over 4,000 hours of owned content across multiple genres, Entertainment Studios provides video content to broadcast television stations, cable television networks, mobile devices, multimedia platforms, and online.

Comedy.TV offers talk shows like Comics Unleashed, stand-up routines from up-and-coming comedians and sitcoms like The First Family and Mr. Box Office.

"Comedy.TV is a terrific addition to our channel line-up,” Suddenlink senior vice president and chief programming officer Kathy Payne said in a statement. “The network delivers a unique mix of today’s funniest comedians, stand-up comedy performances, sitcoms, and talk shows to our customers."

As expected, Viacom is blocking Suddenlink Communications’ customers’ access to its online content in the wake of its failure to reach a carriage renewal agreement with the pay TV provider.

According to Suddenlink, customers, including broadband-only subscribers that may subscribe to another video provider, who logged into websites like Nickelodeon.com and others were greeted with a screen (pictured) that said their access has been blocked due to the impasse. Suddenlink is directing its customers to other sites like Hulu and Amazon.com to view Viacom networks’ shows online.

The tactic is not a new one for Viacom or other programmers. CBS did the same in its August 2013 blackout of Time Warner Cable systems in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas. And in 2012, Viacom blocked access to its online content to DirecTV customers during a nine-day carriage standoff between the two companies.More recently, Viacom blocked online access to Cable One customers after that distributor dropped its cannels in April.

“In doing this, Viacom is violating the principles of an open Internet,” Suddenlink said in a note to subscribers Wednesday. “If you agree, please consider contacting the FCC: http://www.fcc.gov/. In the meantime, the shows you like may be available through YouTube, Hulu, Hulu Plus, Amazon, Amazon Prime, iTunes, or other Internet sources.  Thank you for your patience.  We hope Viacom will quickly reconsider and stop this action.”

Viacom’s carriage agreement with Suddenlink expired at midnight on Oct. 1, part of a dispute over what the cable operator called demands for a 50% increase in carriage fees.  Viacom has said that it offered to accept an earlier Suddenlink proposal for carriage, which the operator rejected. Suddenlink has denied that claim.

“Viacom’s content is available through hundreds of partners, including cable, satellite and many online destinations," Viacom said in a statement. "Customers of these partners receive robust access to our programming, through a variety of audience-friendly distribution agreements that can include television, online and VOD offerings. Suddenlink abruptly decided to end our relationship, which has resulted in the continued interruption of Viacom programming across platforms, including online, through Suddenlink.”

While FCC chairman Tom Wheeler is scheduled to meet with Rep. Tony Cárdenas  (D-Calif.) Tuesday afternoon, following the Congressman’s letter last week asking the agency to mediate the carriage impasse between SportsNet LA, the television home of the Los Angeles Dodgers and a host of distributors. However, the prime players in the dispute don’t seem like they are ready to play ball anytime soon.

In the letter to Wheeler, Cárdenas along with six other House Democrats, Brad Sherman, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Alan Lowenthal, Linda Sánchez Julia Brown, Janice Hanh and Judy Chu sent to the FCC, they asked the agency to mediate the dispute over $4-plus monthly subscriber fees that has kept the rookie RSN from gaining carriage on Cox, Charter, Suddenlink, Dish, DirecTV, Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-verse

Indeed, as the 2014 Major League Baseball season heads into its final two regular-season months, only subscribers to Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, which the nation’s No. 2 MSO negotiates programming deals for, have been able to see the first-place Dodgers on a regular basis within the team’s TV footprint.

In response to the letter, Time Warner Cable, which is paying the Dodgers some $8.35 billion over 25 years and is handling affiliate negotiations for the RSN, and the club said on July 28 that they would be amenable to entering into binding arbitration as a means to end the carriage impasse with DirecTV, which has a major presence in Los Angeles and throughout SportsNet LA’s footprint.

But the nation’s leading DBS provider issued the following statement this morning: “We agree with Congressman Sherman that any loyal Dodger fans deserve the opportunity to see games, yet not at the expense of the millions of other AT&T U-verse, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, DirecTV, Dish Network, Mediacom, Suddenlink Communications, Verizon FiOS and other families who have little or no interest in paying for Time Warner Cable¹s excess. Rather than force everyone to bail Time Warner Cable out, the simplest solution is to enable only those who want to pay to see the remaining Dodgers games to do so at the price Time Warner Cable wants to set.”

For its part, Time Warner Cable said it is open to a legal assist: "We are willing to enter into binding arbitration with DirecTV, and we appreciate the Congressman’s concern for Dodger fans. We prefer to reach agreements through private business negotiations, but given the current circumstance, we are willing to agree to binding arbitration and to allow DirecTV customers to watch the Dodgers games while the arbitration is concluded."

Noted Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten: “First, we'd like to thank the members of the California delegation, especially Congressman Brad Sherman, for putting our fans and their constituents first and doing their best to move this situation forward. We're very pleased that our partners at Time Warner Cable have readily agreed to submit SportsNet LA to binding arbitration, and we urge DirecTV to quickly agree so that we can get these games on the air for their customers.”

Cardenas, at the Minority Media & Telecommunications Conference, said he was sorry Wheeler had only been able to appear via video, but said he had to leave to talk to the FCC chairman on the phone.

Cardenas said after he wrote the letter, Wheeler called him and asked to talk. He suggested the carriage fight was a "subset" of larger media consolidation battles, and that this would not be the last of what he hoped would be "respectful, cordial and overdue conversations"

The letter and meeting come as AT&T is trying to gain Washington approval of its deal to buy DirecTV, while Comcast is seeking approval to merge with Time Warner Cable. 

(Updated: 9:45 a.m. on July 29)

A number of Democrat members of Congress from California have asked the FCC to step in and mediate the dispute between Time Warner Cable and various distributors over carriage of the SportsNet LA, the television home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, saying that they fear it could set a precedent for "vertically integrated companies to hold consumers hostage to assert unfair market dominance."

The letter comes as AT&T is trying to get Washington approval of its deal to buy DirecTV and Comcast wants approval to merge with Time Warner Cable. 

For their part, Time Warner Cable and the Dodgers said they would be amenable to entering into binding arbitration as a means to end the carriate impasse with the nation's leading DBS provider.

Time Warner Cable launched SportsNet LA in February, but many distributors have complained about the price -- some reports put the monthly license fee at more than $4 per subscriber – especially when combined with three other RSNs in the market (Prime Ticket, Fox Sports West and Time Warner Cable SportsNet), and aren't taking the network. Time Warner Cable is paying some $8.35 billion over 25 years to the Dodgers' ownership and is handling affiliate negotiations for the rookie regional sports network.

In the letter to FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, the legislators said they were increasingly concerned about the absence of the net on Cox and Charter and Suddenlink and Dish and DirecTV and Verizon FiOs and AT&T U-verse Signing on to the letter were Reps. Tony Cárdenas, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Alan Lowenthal, Brad Sherman, Linda Sánchez Julia Brown, Janice Hanh and Judy Chu.

They said that past the midpoint of the season, baseball fans remained in the dark, as well as unable to hear the iconic voice of sportscaster Vin Sculley calling the games, including Clayton Kershaw's no-hitter (pictured).

"The ongoing stalemate between Time Warner Cable and other pay-TV providers has reached a point where mediation by the FCC is necessary," they said. "Ensuring that homes throughout Los Angeles County have access to the broadcast of Dodgers games regardless of which cable or satellite company provides service in their areas is very important," they said.

For its part, Time Warner Cable said it is open to a legal assist, relative to DirecTV: "We are willing to enter into binding arbitration with DirecTV, and we appreciate the Congressman’s concern for Dodger fans. We prefer to reach agreements through private business negotiations, but given the current circumstance, we are willing to agree to binding arbitration and to allow DirecTV customers to watch the Dodgers games while the arbitration is concluded."

Noted Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten: “First, we'd like to thank the members of the California delegation, especially Congressman Brad Sherman, for putting our fans and their constituents first and doing their best to move this situation forward. We're very pleased that our partners at Time Warner Cable have readily agreed to submit SportsNet LA to binding arbitration, and we urge DirecTV to quickly agree so that we can get these games on the air for their customers.”

DirecTV was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday morning.

An FCC spokesperson on July 28 was checking on whether the chairman had received the letter at press time, but the commission is historically very reluctant to get in the middle of carriage disputes, even at the behest of Congress, beyond keeping in touch with the parties or adding its voice to th call for resolution in the interests of consumers.