CBS Hartford pulled from Cablevision in it's own market

[KEVIN_224]

http://www.rep-am.com/news/connecticut/doc52c74baf9ce64688775058.txt

Yep! WFSB-TV (CBS) channel 3 of Hartford has been taken off of Cablevision systems in sections of Litchfield and New Haven Counties. It was to be cut off with the end of 2013, but got an extension because of the snowstorm coverage. It went to black at 6:30 PM Friday evening. Whether this has to do with WFSB-TV 3-4, a.k.a. WFSB Fairfield County, being pulled in Fairfield County, I'm not sure.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Channel 3 is advertising that people in that area will miss their favorite shows such as CSI and Big Bang Theory... yet that's not true since those areas also carry the CBS from New York.

 

[KEVIN_224]

Let me guess...not mentioning that many could still pick them up with an antenna? I seem to remember WTIC-TV (FOX) channel 61 of Hartford never mentioning that either when they had a cable dispute some time back.

 

[beachrider]

I am in New Haven County. Both CBS-2 and CBS-3 have been pulled (but not the CBS sports station). CV is showing a screen that advises: CV wanted to retain CBS-3 and dump CBS-2; CV 'felt' that paying/charging for two channels that carry the same programming was wasteful; CV advises that CBS-3 got CBS-2 to cooperate and suppress transmissions of both; CV 'wants' subscribers to advise their congressmen.

FWIW, Digital 22 in Plainview, Long Island comes in nicely, over the air.

 

[beachrider]

It IS interesting that, unlike the FOX-CV fight that ended up with CV dropping FOX-5, the interim availability of CBS is suspended on free-per-view cable boxes.

 

[hancox]

Channel 3 is advertising that people in that area will miss their favorite shows such as CSI and Big Bang Theory... yet that's not true since those areas also carry the CBS from New York.

Not true! WFSB won't negotiate just for their DMA, they're pulling WFSB for all areas, despite the biggest crux being in dual-CBS'ed Fairfield County.

Ridiculous!

 

[beachrider]

It also augurs for future trouble as ABC-7 & ABC-8 or NBC-30 & NBC-4 get into 'snits' with CV in the near future...

 

[beachrider]

More news:
1) the reason that New Haven CV subscribers have NO access to CBS is two-fold. WFSB pulled CBS-3 AND CV pulled CBS-2. CV is lying about this on their CBS-2 screen.
2) CV is pulling CBS-3 from Fairfield county, but Ffld still has CBS-2
3) CBS-3 pulled itself from CV everywhere until they get Ffld county back
4) CV is trying to block CBS-3's owner from getting a new station in St. Louis on the basis that CBS-3 is harming New Have & Litchfield areas to get back Fairfield county.

...all from a New Haven Register article today. Viewable on Google...

 

[Don in CT]

How many people in Fairfield County watch WFSB.

 

[raoul5788]

Probably not very many. Even in the border towns like Shelton they are more oriented to NYC than Hartford.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

And WFSB is back on Cablevision.

http://www.multichannel.com/cable-operators/cablevision-wfsb-reach-retrans-deal/147756

 

[beachrider]

Interestingly, CV phone-called their subscribers on Sunday morning to advise that CBS was back. FWIW, Fairfield county is CT's most populous county. Ffld does get its CBS Jets games on CBS-2, the Pats games com in on CBS-3. There are other scenarios where Ffld folks might choose CBS-3, as well.