Law&Crime network said it reached a distribution agreement with TDS Telecommunications and is now available on TDS and TDS TV Plus.

With the addition of TDS, and other recent pickups by distributors, Law&Crime is now available in nearly 30 million households.

“TDS offers a very impressive feature set and functionality for its video subscribers” said Alex Kopacz, head of content distribution and licensing at Law&Crime. “We’re confident that Law&Crime will add great value to the TDS channel lineups while highlighting a programming genre that continues to drive consistent viewership growth.”

Launched by ABC legal correspondent and media entrepreneur Dan Abrams and backed by A+E Networks, Law&Crime features true crime stories and legal programs. 

In addition to pay TV, Law&Crime is available for streaming over the top via YouTube TV, Peacock, fuboTV, Sling, Philo, The Roku Channel, Xfinity, Xumo and TV Plus 

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."

TDS Telecom, a Madison, Wisconsin-based mid-sized pay TV and broadband service provider, said it has restarted carriage negotiations with AMC Networks, just days after saying they would drop the programmer on June 10 because it is shifting original programming from its linear channels to its streaming service AMC Plus.

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.

TDS has been in talks with AMC Networks since April -- its original carriage agreement was scheduled to expire on May 1. While the pay TV company was granted an extension to continue offering AMC programming while negotiations continued, around June 2 they apparently have reached a stalemate.

In a blog post June 2, TDS said it will no longer carry the channels -- AMC, BBC America, We TV (Women’s Entertainment), BBC World News, IFC, and Sundance -- as of June 10. 

“As with every contract negotiation, TDS looks for a fair and reasonable agreement. AMC launched AMC Plus, a direct to consumer streaming service last year. AMC Plus customers receive exclusive AMC content and early access to favorite ‘best of AMC’ shows and acclaimed movies,” TDS said in the blog post. “TDS does not agree with AMC’s decision to move valued content from live TV distribution to distribution exclusively on their streaming service. Asking cable subscribers to pay more while the AMC Network carves out highly valued content and delivers less to cable subscribers is not fair or reasonable.”

But on June 8, TDS Telecom’s director of external affairs and communications Kit Beyer said talks have resumed. 

“Since TDS notified its customers that it would no longer carry the AMC Network, discussions have restarted with the network,” Beyer said in an email message. “TDS will continue to fight for fair rates and terms for our customers and will strive for a reasonable outcome.” 

Whether that improves the chances that TDS Telecom will  continue to carry the  channels is unclear. In earlier stages of negotiations with the programmer, TDS Telecom appeared to be equally concerned with high prices and programming only available on AMC Plus. 

AMC Networks did not return requests for comment. 

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 AMC plus subscribers at the end of 2020 and was on track to finish 2021 with 9 million streaming customers. AMC Plus is priced at about $8.99 per month.

TDS Telecom’s beef with the programmer is nothing new. Other providers have expressed disdain over networks that stream content at a price equal to or lesser than linear rates. But usually those tiffs get resolved.

Perhaps that will be the case here as well. But the idea that distributors, especially smaller ones that typically pay higher fees, are beginning to get upset that streaming offerings could cannibalize programming from linear channels that are currently paying the freight for programmers, is an issue that shouldn't be ignored. That streaming exclusive programming is becoming an increasingly popular practice among content companies could possibly pose problems in future negotiations, particularly with distributors that don't own content. 

Already MCTV, a small cable provider in Massillon, Ohio, said it would drop the AMC Networks channels on June 11. Conway, Arkansas-based operator Conway Corp. also has plans to drop the channels.

“After a thorough review of costs, viewership and availability of similar programming on our lineup AND on numerous streaming platforms, the decision was made to no longer carry AMC Networks,” MCTV said on its website. 

As a result, MCTV said the monthly rate for basic cable TV service would be reduced by $2, effective July 1. 

Conway TV, an electric, water, TV and telecom utility in Conway, Arkansas, said via Twitter on June 7  that it would drop the AMC channels on June 10. In addition, it is dropping Fusion TV on July 31. 

“We're committed to providing the community with quality TV programming at a competitive price, and these networks have increased their fees at an alarming rate that is unfair to our customers,” Conway TV said on its Twitter feed. 

TDS Broadband Service, a subsidiary of Telephone & Data Systems, said it has purchased the cable, broadband and business assets of former municipal broadband operator Continuum for $80 million.

Headquartered in Mooresville, N.C., Continuum passes about 36,500 households and has 70 employees. TDS said Continuum employees were offered positions and will continue to support customers locally as part of TDS.

“We welcome the employees of Continuum to the TDS family. They are now part of an exciting journey to expand and improve broadband availability in North Carolina,” said TDS Telecom president and CEO, Jim Butman in a press release. “TDS is a strong, community-minded company. We believe in investing for the long run and work to provide the absolute best in broadband, TV and phone services for our customers.”

TDS first announced the deal in August. Continuum was owned by the municipalities of Mooresville and Davidson and any sale required that the transaction be approved by voters in the communities. The referendum approving the deal was passed in November, the companies said, adding that all other regulatory requirements have been met.

Continuum, which provides service to the municipalities of Mooresville, Davidson, Cornelius and Huntersville, will continue to operate under that name at least for the time being.

“We are not in a hurry to change the name. We want to get to know the community and grow with the needs of the area,” Butman said in the release.

RBC Capital Markets served as the exclusive M&A advisor to Continuum.

The municipal system was formed in 2007 and operated under the name MI-Connection (it switched to Continuum in 2017), after the towns purchased the cable assets serving the community from bankrupt Adelphia Communications for about $80 million. While the service has been successful -- it had revenue of about $21 million in fiscal 2018 -- according to the Mooresville Tribune, the towns found it an increasing burden to pay the debt associated with the systems. 

The towns began looking for a buyer in March, fielding six offers by April and selecting TDS as the winner in July, the paper said. 

Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Midco has become the latest tier 2 cable operator to sign onto TiVo’s Next-Gen Platform, with an eye toward delivering IPTV to Android TV set-tops and mobile devices.

Midco delivers TV, internet and phone service to 385,000 homes and businesses in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas and Wisconsin with cable TV, high-speed internet and landline voice services. It had previously deployed the TiVo Experience 4 user interface to its video customers, but is now looking to build out the capacity to integrate OTT experiences along with its managed linear service.

TiVo’s Next-Gen platform is a cloud-based technology that delivers both IP-based VOD and linear video, as well as a full range of cloud DVR features, to a wide range of set-top platforms, as well as iOS and Android mobile devices.

Like other tier 2 operators who’ve signed on to Next-Gen platform—a group that includes RCN, Armstrong and TDS Telecom—Midco will eventually roll out thin-client set-tops powered by Android TV.

Notably, TDS announced earlier this week that forged a deal with Arris to provide Android TV-powered devices.

Related: TDS Becomes First North American Operator to Deploy Arris’ Android TV Set-Top

“With TiVo’s Next-Gen Platform, we are able to easily and rapidly deploy superior entertainment experiences that meet the evolving needs of our customers,” said Jon Pederson, chief technology officer, Midco. “Our business is built on innovation, and TiVo’s industry-leading solutions enable us to deliver a simple, smart, and elegant customer experience, while leapfrogging our competitors.”

Added Jeffrey Glahn, VP of North American sales for TiVo: “TiVo’s advanced platform gives operators a flexible migration path to IPTV, allowing them to continuously innovate and easily introduce must-have features to its customers.”

TiVo announces its second quarter earnings results later this afternoon. 

Technology licensing company TiVo said Wednesday that its cost to litigate patent disputes increased by $5.6 million in the second quarter, as it continues to lock horns with Comcast.

TiVo rendered its Q2 report a day after it suffered a defeat in its fight to get Comcast to pay licensing fees used for technologies in the cable company’s X1 video system. Comcast remains an important holdout in TiVo’s quest to put the pay TV ecosystem under patent license, and TiVo has been spending accordingly in court to put the cable operator under heel.

Related: Comcast Wins Battle in Patent War with TiVo

On Wednesday, TiVo reported a 13% slide in platform solutions revenue to $72.2 million, as the company continues to steer away from selling hardware. TiVo did, however, tout new licensing business in the cable industry for its next-generation platform, with RCN, TDS, Atlantic Broadband and Service Electric all signing on in the second quarter.

TiVo also said part of the revenue slide stemmed from a notable consumer electronics company being “out of license”—a condition TiVo said it expects to resolve soon.

In total, TiVo saw overall revenue decline by 17% to $172.8 million in the second quarter.

TiVo did report a significant drop in operating expenses, which included a $6.8 million reduction tied directly to exiting the hardware business.

“We delivered a solid second quarter and we continue to stay ahead of our internal plan, including optimizing our costs,” said interim president and CEO Raghu Rau, who said he’d stay on indefinitely. For TiVo, it was the first earnings report since the abrupt departure of former CEO Enrique Rodriguez, who left in June to become CTO of Liberty Global. 

Related: TiVo Shares Dip After CEO Departure

“I am committed to remain as CEO as long as it takes to drive the strategic process to a logical, successful conclusion that maximizes stockholder value,” Rau added.

TiVo shares were up 5.35% in after-hours trading. 

TDS Metrocom, a subsidiary of TDS Telecom, said it has completed its purchase of Merrimac Communcations.in Merrimac, Wis., and will immediately begin working to transition customers and planning improvements to the network which passes more than 6,000 homes.

“We look forward to serving the customers of Merrimac Communications and transitioning them to TDS’ state-of-the-art solutions,” TDS CEO Jim Butman said in a statement. “As we invest in the network, customers will begin enjoying some of the fastest, most reliable communications services in the state. This, in turn, will help accelerate growth and economic development throughout the region.”

TDS announced the Merrimac deal in November. Terms were not disclosed. Merrimac provides cable TV, internet, and phone service to residents and businesses in parts of Sauk, Columbia, and Dane counties, including th e towns of Merrimac, Caledonia, Sumpter, Prairie du Sac, Roxbury, Mazomanie, Greenfield, and West Point and the villages of Sauk City, Prairie du Sac, and Merrimac. TDS’ plans include launching TDS TV service and further building out the fiber optic network to serve more area residents.

TDS has been active in the deal market, purchasing Sun Prairie Utilities’ fiber network in May and cable networks from Crestview Cable Communications in Central Oregon in November and K2 Communications in Mead, Colo., in September.

The Pat Thompson Co. assisted Merrimac Communications with this transaction.

Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) said it has agreed to purchase Mead, Colo.-based voice, video and data services provider K2 Communications. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

K2 Communications has about 1,200 customers near Johnstown and Berthoud, Colo., two markets TDS purchased in 2013 as part of its purchase of Baja Broadband.

“K2 Communications provides an excellent clustering opportunity for TDS operations in Colorado,” said TDS chief operating officer Jim Butman in a statement. “Situated on the I-25 corridor 30 minutes north of Denver, K2 Communications is approximately ten miles from our Johnstown location and just six miles from our Berthoud market.”

Started in 2002, K2 Communications provides broadband, video and voice products to area residents. K2 Communications has been a solid community partner. TDS intends to build on that reputation focusing on exceptional customer service and reliable network connectivity.

“TDS plans to connect the networks, accelerate broadband speed upgrades, and modernize video products and services quickly. We are confident this transaction will greatly benefit the current K2 Communications customers,” Butman said in a statement.

Dave Kavanagh of KavaCom Consulting assisted K2 Communications with this transaction. The deal is pending regulatory approval at both the federal and local levels.

Telephone & Data Systems said it has signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire Sun Prairie Utlities, a municipal broadband operator in Wisconsin. Terms were not disclosed.

The deal, which is expected to close by the end of March, is the second in two months for TDS. In January, the telecom company closed its purchase InterLinx Communications, which provides wholesale fiber connections to businesses in in southern Utah. 

Sun Prairie Utilities is an electric service provider in Sun Prairie, Wis., and first built a fiber broadband ring to provide high-speed data service to the community in 1998. TDS has said it will invest in the network over the next two years to extend broadband service to the bulk of the area. TDS is also exploring making fiber service available to future business developments, within the city, to help foster business growth and attract more economic development projects.

“SPU has built a strong fiber broadband network and has worked hard to expand broadband capacity in Sun Prairie for its citizens,” said TDS vice president of External Affairs and Communications Drew Petersen in a statement. “We plan to expand the network to launch 1Gigabit broadband speeds, as well as phone service, and our industry leading IPTV solution, TDS TV, to residents. For businesses, we would look at providing dedicated fiber connections and our hosted VoIP phone solution, TDS managed IP Hosted.”