Another possible dispute? : Dish v. Belo

[Mojo Jojo]

From http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...warner_21bus.ART.State.Edition1.270af23.html:

[SIZE=-1]By VICTOR GODINEZ / The Dallas Morning News
[/SIZE] Time Warner Cable Inc. and Dallas-based Belo Corp . are negotiating a new agreement over how much Time Warner will pay Belo to carry several of its television stations in markets around the country, including ABC affiliate WFAA-TV (Channel 8) in Dallas.
If the two sides can't come to an agreement by Saturday, those stations could go dark for viewers.
For weary cable subscribers, it's just the latest public spat between a broadcaster and a cable provider.
Time Warner reached a last-minute deal with the Walt Disney Co. several weeks ago to keep Disney-owned channels including ESPN on the air. While Disney also owns the ABC network, local affiliates not owned by Disney were not included in that deal.
The new negotiations between Time Warner and Belo cover 12 of the 20 stations owned by Belo around the country, according to Time Warner's website.
Time Warner has about 2 million TV and Internet subscribers in Texas.
While the two companies are almost certain to reach an agreement before the deadline, neither side is hesitating to publicly blast the other, as has become increasingly common in these situations.
Channel 8 is running ads telling Time Warner viewers to seek out alternative providers if negotiations fail.
Belo is also negotiating a new agreement with EchoStar Corp., the parent company of satellite TV provider Dish Network.
Dish Network's logo is noticeably absent from the alternative providers Belo has been advertising to its viewers.
WFAA says on its website that Time Warner should pay more for its popular content, as "a number of other channels with far less viewers are paid significantly more than WFAA by Time Warner."
On Time Warner's "Roll Over or Get Tough" website, which it also used during the Disney discussions, the cable provider says Belo is using "blackout threats to boost their bottom line."
Time Warner says higher fees paid to broadcasters will result in higher cable bills for customers, but Belo disputes that.

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belo)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belo#Television_stations, the following channels are Belo-owned affiliates:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belo#Television_stations

 

[Mr Tony]

yep sounds like they have a slate uplinked already in case they get pulled

 

[Willh699]

looks like a triple whammy for us North Texas Dish Customers, we lost FSN Southwest and might be losing KDFW Fox 4, KDFI My 27, and WFAA 8, which could be a death blow for Dish's popularity in the Metroplex, looks like DirecTV might be getting a new customer in my household soon if the Locals go bye-bye.

 

[Juan]

I think its time E* hired a new negotiator...

 

[PJW99]

Hmmm. If KREM disappears for me, I might end up having to "move" to get an HD CBS feed. I could probably get the HD CBS feed out of LA through AAD, but Im not sure if I want to pony up the extra bucks at this point.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

What will Dish do especially if one of the big four networks is lost?

 

[Willh699]

bumping now, confirmed on WFAA.com, Belo is in fact heading to a dispute with Dish soon if a new contract isn't made in the 11th hour.

here's the story on WFAA.com:
A WFAA message about DISH Network | wfaa.com | On TV

 

[jhamps10]

Same story with KMOV in the St Louis market...

I'm thinking it may be time for E* to hire some new negotiators... seems like E* can't do a single one without the station being pulled...

 

[Mojo Jojo]

It has also been confirmed by WWL-TV (CBS) and WUPL-TV (My Network TV) in the New Orleans market:
If you watch WWL-TV or WUPL-TV on DISH Network | New Orleans News, Local News, Breaking News, Weather | wwltv.com | TV Schedule
I am sure that many New Orleanians will be upset by this. WWL (Channel 4) is quite a popular channel; notice how WUPL is not mentioned in the letter except for the title. It would be nice if WUPL would be in HD; DirecTV actually recently added the HD feed. For a while, WUPL did not show HD programming.

 

[skihoodoo]

dish network customes at risk of loosing belo owned stations

this message was posted on kgw.com today (Portland, OR)
KGW-TV on DISH Network | kgw.com | Portland News, Local News, Breaking News, Weather | On TV

by D.J. WILSON, General Manager, KGW-TV
kgw.com
Posted on October 29, 2010 at 11:30 AM
Updated today at 5:04 PM




Dear valued KGW viewer,
I want you to know that we are in the process of negotiating a program carriage agreement with DISH Network. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to move forward with DISH, little progress has been made to this point.
In the interest of completing a fair deal and avoiding viewer disruption, KGW has offered an extension to DISH for continued carriage of our programming. If they do not accept our offer to extend, it is possible that KGW-TV will come off the DISH network Sunday, October 31st at midnight.Our hope is that the extra time will allow for additional dialog resulting in a mutually fair agreement.
You can help -- call DISH at 1-877-535-8271 and tell them you want to be able to watch KGW’s local news and receive the station’s up-to-date information during times of severe weather, Oprah, and NBC programming such as the NBC Nightly News, Meet the Press, The Office, Law and Order Los Angeles, and NBC Sunday Night Football.
Stay tuned to KGW and this web site for information.
Respectfully,
DJ Wilson
President and General Manager

 

[rkh]

As far as I'm concerned, they can drop all the locals. I record them OTA anyway - rain or shine.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

What will Dish do especially if one of the big four networks is lost?

I wonder how this will play out if Belo and Dish cannot come to an agreement.
I wonder if the Significantly View Channel List could come into play.
For example, in the New Orleans market, some cable providers offer both WWL and WAFB (Baton Rouge's CBS). WAFB is a significantly viewed channel in some of the parishes in the New Orleans market. If I had to guess why, I would say it is due to their shift in some CBS programming. For example, The Price Is Right airs at 11:00 A.M. on WAFB while The Price Is Right airs at 10:00 A.M. on WWL. Years ago WAFB would air the episode of The Price Is Right from the day before. Another example is that The Young and the Restless airs at 11:00 A.M. on WWL while The Young and the Restless airs at 4:00 P.M. on WAFB. For years, WWL did not air The Early Show. Instead, they play their own morning news from 5:00 A.M.-9:00 A.M. It aired on WHNO, an indpendent station for a while, but it now airs on WWL's sister station WUPL. WAFB does air The Early Show.

 

[cditty]

As far as I'm concerned, they can drop all the locals. I record them OTA anyway - rain or shine.

I hooked up an OTA antenna for my brother in Arlington/Mansfield. Your locals are easy to get. Powerful and in the same direction. I love the OTA integration in Dish DVR's.

 

[whatchel1]

Time for the providers to tell TV station conglomerates enough is enough.

Here is something that few have seen and why this stuff is happening so often. This was reported today in SkyReport. That the big TV station owners are now "cleaning up" on retrans fees.

At What Cost Retrans?

Here's one for those of you who are beginning to wonder just how high the price of Congress' mandated retrans scheme might get. Michael Wilner of cable op Insight is among the curious and, after some digging round in various presentations to Wall Street, he found:

• Sinclair Broadcasting reported that "current retransmission revenues are three to four times greater than (the company's) 2003 theoretical analysis."

• Nexstar Broadcasting Group showed a 68.5% increase from 2008 to 2009 in retrans revenue ... and they predict a "substantial double digit growth" in 2010.

• Media General said its retrans fees had grown from $7M in 2008 to $16M in 2009 ... and they estimated an increase of up to $18-19M in 2010. (To find the full blog, go here.)

In short, Congress has made blackmail legal ... and the broadcasters are, quite naturally, making the most of it. Which is probably why fewer and fewer of them are willing to break out their retrans revenues anymore in reports to the SEC.

But, of course, it isn't just the cable/satellite/telco guys who worry about the impacts of current retrans rules .... Programmers without broadcast big brothers have worries too as evidenced by a recent meeting between Discovery's David Zaslav and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski to discuss "the impact that the current retransmission consent scheme has on the ability of programmers not affiliated with must-have broadcasters to gain carriage on reasonable terms and conditions, and the need for the Commission to protect diversity of voice on MVPD offerings."•

 

[DAVEGTESTR]

Ridiculous, first no Fox HD , Fisher/ ABC last winter, now our top news channel KING/NBC, no wonder nobody here has DISH. We need full time RSN's here in the West too. The Fisher dispute was many months, now the NW suffers again. Wow looks like Tivo was a great choice of late.

 

[concord]

Some complain about losing channel XYZ, but after negotiations and subscription prices go up, they complain about the increase...funny. As far as local re-broadcasts, what whatchel1 stated is right on. Forcing providers to broadcast locals allow local channel owners to dictate prices.

 

[whatchel1]

Some complain about losing channel XYZ, but after negotiations and subscription prices go up, they complain about the increase...funny. As far as local re-broadcasts, what whatchel1 stated is right on. Forcing providers to broadcast locals allow local channel owners to dictate prices.

Thanks, up until a year ago my paycheck came from a TV station. So I see both sides. Thing is I really believe that the corps are practically extorting the providers now to make up and add larger revenues. I didn't know it for sure that is until I read the report from SkyReport.

 

[ekilgus]

This may become the norm rather than the exception since I think all the broadcasters/providers will demand exorbitant increases at contract renewal time. I believe they think threats and blackouts are the only way for them to maximize their revenue.

 

[tempVAdish]

Looks like all the stations are posting similar letters...

Special message for DISH Network subscribers | 13NEWS / WVEC.com | WVEC Community | Hampton Roads | wvec.com

 

[jhamps10]

I for one think it is totally stupid for local broadcasters that they charge cable companies to show their signal, when that in most places you can get the station over the air (except here in Flora, IL where we are in a DTV dead zone from all surrounding markets for OTA) for the insanely low price of... FREE!