Charlie isn't alone.

[Dah-Henny]

...as far as agreements with locals go, anyway. We always hear about E* dropping locals because they couldn't come into agreement with pricing from the local affiliate.

I was watching the news this morning on WSOC ABC channel 9 (Charlotte, NC), and they announced that all subs to TWC will lose channel 9 and sister station Action 64 on April 1st, because they couldn't come into contract agreement.
WSOC is the most popular channel in Charlotte, so it doesn't surprise me, with their 10 million dollar upgrade to HD, that they would like to jack their prices.
I suspect when their contract expires with E*, we may have the same issue.

 

[IIP]

Every TV re-broadcaster has had these issues. The locals have been losing money as more and more alternatives to their broadcast network affiliates have become available, and recently they've had to pay for digital and HD upgrades, and are looking around to find a way to get more money to pay for it. It isn't uncommon for locals to ask for 50-200% increases in their retransmission fees, though they aren't GETTING that much once negotiations are done.

 

[r10fret]

10 million upgrade for a cox duopoly, oh boo hoo.

Here's a novel idea for the NAB and the locals to drum up some money, they should sell themselves to people in adjacent markets that have spotbeam covergae and want to sub to out of market affiliates. Will never happen though.

 

[Stargazer]

If they cant get agreement with cable company or satellite company then who is going to view them? The station will be screwed.

 

[Hall]

Anyone who thinks E* is the only provider who gets into contract disputes with networks is a fool.... Cable companies, in fact, have to alert their customers something like 30 days or more in advance of when the contract ends.

 

[DishSubLA]

Charlie has never been alone on this. Lest we forget the grand-daddy of all disputes: The TWC vs. Disney/ABC. It was ugly and involved several members of congress and dueling law-suits and non-stop news coverage. You are right, all that we ever hear about on this board is when Charlie drops and plays hardball. Comcast is know as a hard-baller, too. And cable has droppled many a channels over the years just like Dish, only to re-instate them on their line-up after reaching an agreement.

 

[wh5916]

Anyone who thinks E* is the only provider who gets into contract disputes with networks is a fool.... Cable companies, in fact, have to alert their customers something like 30 days or more in advance of when the contract ends.

I know for a fact that this is true. Cox Cable, in this area, removed a local channel for several days a few years back over a contract dispute.

 

[Roxor]

You know, it's amazing how these companies play hardball with "our" money. Then both sides tell us they are trying to "save" us money and/or provide the best service possible for the lowest cost. In the end, we pay more and often get less and the big shots get huge salary increases and/or the stockholders get increased dividends on our dime. Wouldn't it be nice if they told the truth one time and simply said they were all greedy bastards and we are a bunch of suckers who fall for their bull crap time after time.

 

[hendrix04]

You know, it's amazing how these companies play hardball with "our" money. Then both sides tell us they are trying to "save" us money and/or provide the best service possible for the lowest cost. In the end, we pay more and often get less and the big shots get huge salary increases and/or the stockholders get increased dividends on our dime. Wouldn't it be nice if they told the truth one time and simply said they were all greedy bastards and we are a bunch of suckers who fall for their bull crap time after time.

Agreed... if they are working so hard to save us money, why do we get a price increase every year?

 

[riffjim4069]

You know, it's amazing how these companies play hardball with "our" money. Then both sides tell us they are trying to "save" us money and/or provide the best service possible for the lowest cost. In the end, we pay more and often get less and the big shots get huge salary increases and/or the stockholders get increased dividends on our dime. Wouldn't it be nice if they told the truth one time and simply said they were all greedy bastards and we are a bunch of suckers who fall for their bull crap time after time.

While a la carte may not save much money, it would allow the customers to decide which programming they wish to receive. If a channel cannot cut it without being bundled with a dozen others and are then forced upon us, they deserved to be shutdown. People can still subscribe to the megapacks, but we need more programming choices.

 

[pfan1981]

TWC had a dispute with the local FOX station (lin tv) during Packer season. Talk about putting gas on the fire. I do wonder how many customers they lost with that 3-4 week hiatus.

 

[Toddwsu2005]

Time Warner had a epic battle with the big ten network.I'm not even sure they ever got that solved.

 

[FitzAusTex]

Time Warner Austin dropped NBC (KXAN) for 3 months this past Fall. TWC ended up eventually giving customers Starz on that channel until they both resolved the dispute.