Mediacom cable to stop carrying some local channels?

[daydreamer]

Is there a dispute between Mediacom cable and the Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc? I saw a scroll across the bottom of there screen the other day and found this statement on there website. I see they recommend switching to satellite (Dish or DirectTV) for your local channels after Dec 1 or using an OTA antenna. But I also noticed they would give you $100 back for choosing DirectTV if you signup before Dec 1 and satisfy some requirements.
www.wics.com/mediacom/mediacom.shtml
Sorry if I posted this in wrong forum. Please move it for me. Thanks.

 

[Mr Tony]

here is a thread on it from the DIsh area
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=80422&highlight=mediacom

 

[cablewithaview]

The only way to push reform on retrans, must carry, etc. is ALL providers are going to have to join in and work together for once. Every provider has an issue with a broadcasting station at sometime or another. SINclair is the worst out of all of them and with the NAB fanning flames, it doesn't help. SINclair wants 50 cents per sub from me for The CW when we switch to digital, we have informed them that the station will come off and stay off. 50 cents for an OTA feed is outrageous. Now if broadcasters wants to scramble the feed like a cable network and offer a box to pick up the encrypted signal, go for it. The problem with this is, broadcasters serves the public interest unlike cable networks. Cable started offering locals for people that could not even receive their local channels with an antenna. This should have been a partnership to begin with and not a slug fest as we see today. Yea without the locals, you would miss things like CSI, Lost, local news, etc. but without cable or satellite your locals would not be able to be viewed in the full DMA due to terrian, etc. This basically goes hand in hand and benefits both parties. As for charging someone say $15 for a 12 channel local basic, it's not even enough to cover the cost of maintaining, billing, etc. for such account. If broadcasters keep asking for more and more, that 12 channel basic maybe well over $30.

 

[CbandLover]

SBG Rant Coming Right Up!

Just another example of the greedy bastards at Sinclair holding consumers hostage. I hope Mediacom gives them the bird and cuts it. But unfortunatley, SBG is linking 22 Sinclair controlled stations across multiple markets for ransom. There will be a deal at the last minute, and the Mediacom subs will end up footing the bill.

We are dealing with this crap in Cols, OH on TW with 2 Sinclair channels, Fox/ABC HD feeds. My opinion, if local broadcasters want money for signals, we should make a local tier, and charge what satellite does for local channels. Then we should launch a huge campaign to explain to consumers why we did that--because of greedy OTA broadcasting companies. Sure TW will lose subs, but oh well. They will anyway when ATT launches LightSpeed here soon. It is rumored they have SBG agreements.

Oh, and another thing. CWAView brings up another good point. I live less than 10 miles with no hills and use powered rabbit ears for SBG Fox/ABC HD. Still get breakups/dropouts all the time because word around here is that SBG does not transmit full power to save electrical costs. Answer this Sinclair---If you cannot provide a good product for "free" OTA, then why should TWC or any other MSO pay you for it??? ANSWER that one!!

BTW, good to see you back CWAView. I really do miss the Satelliteguys Breaking News section you used to help fill. I will just resort to Multichannel. : )

 

[cablewithaview]

Hey cbandlover, thanks I really miss being around here.

I have had an engineer tell me the samething from SINclair concerning transmitting in full power. I made the suggestion, drop one of the stations analog (they have two in the area) and go strickly digital? Where I live north of the system is in another DMA, one station broadcast in HD/SD only and that's how cable operators receive it. DirecTV carries it but Dish Network doesn't, go figure.
Anyhow getting back to SINclair, the engineer wanted me to switch over to the digital feed since we have problems with the analog, I said fine if you supply the equipment. He advised that would not happen but they wanted us to switch so they could charge us 50 cents a sub, I told 'em if we paid for a local channel, it's gone. Since that comment was made, not another word has been said about it. The station actually had the balls to ask me if I knew of any other cable operators in the area that maybe using their digital feed without payment. Now that's sorry to ask such and refused to answer that in any shape, form or fashion. I don't trust, like or have anything for SINclair. I boycott ALL advertisers with any station that seeks cash for carriage. I'm just waiting for them to start something here. I guess the two stations they have (MYTV and CW) here may not be worth their time for the moment to push it like they are with Mediacom over Various "Big 4" networks in those markets.

 

[Bogy]

I have Mediacom here in Iowa. We will probably lose 2 stations tonite, a Fox and a CBS. However, we currently have 2 Fox and 2 CBS stations in the lineup, so it won't bother me. However, there are apparently many others in Iowa who will lose either Fox or CBS entirely.

Sinclair is the 2nd biggest owner of TV stations in the country. I don't know where Mediacom ranks, but since it doesn't even rate its own forum here it obviously isn't one of the big players. For Sinclair, this is a good opportunity to play the bully. Only 3% of their viewership comes from Mediacom, while 50% of Mediacom viewers get at least one Sinclair channel.

Does being carried on cable benefit the channel? It would appear so. The Des Moines Register today carried a story that the Sinclair station in Des Moines, the Fox station, would be cutting its advertising rates from 25% to 40%. Advertising companies in the area were skeptical that this would be a big enough discount for the number of viewers they were going to lose.

 

[garn9173]

Well, it's happened. $inclair owned stations are no longer carried by Mediacom. So far this weekend, just in Des Moines, Mediacom has handed out over 4,000 rabbit ears to their subscribers so that they can get the local Fox affiliate.

Personally, I don't think you'll be seeing $inclair owned stations on Mediacom anytime soon. Binding arbitration was a last ditch effort to save the relationship between the 2 companies and $inclair basically thumbed their nose to the FCC's reccomendation of binding arbitration.

If $inclair's motive wasn't clear before, it is now.

 

[RVD420]

Well, it's happened. $inclair owned stations are no longer carried by Mediacom. So far this weekend, just in Des Moines, Mediacom has handed out over 4,000 rabbit ears to their subscribers so that they can get the local Fox affiliate.

Personally, I don't think you'll be seeing $inclair owned stations on Mediacom anytime soon. Binding arbitration was a last ditch effort to save the relationship between the 2 companies and $inclair basically thumbed their nose to the FCC's reccomendation of binding arbitration.

If $inclair's motive wasn't clear before, it is now.

Sinclair are just a bunch of greedy b@$tards. This is not the first time Sinclair has pulled something like this.

 

[garn9173]

While I agree that $inclair is money hungry, Mediacom is acting like a 2 year old that isn't getting his/her own way.Not only have they gotten the Iowa delegation from Congress invovled in this spat, Mediacom has gotten the Iowa Legislature invoved as well.