No FOX On Cable: Deadline Midnight 12/31/09

[Satellite Rick]

The marketing arms of the satellite industry should jump on this!
Market Area: Central Florida
Source: Lakeland Ledger

Now, if a dispute between Time Warner Cable and Fox hasn't been resolved by midnight tonight, Bright House customers might not be able to see the beloved quarterback throw his last collegiate spiral.
Joe Durkin, a spokesman with Bright House Networks, said Wednesday the company may offer converter boxes to customers if an agreement isn't reached before the deadline.
"If it does not get resolved, we will look at a number of options," Durkin said.
"But we anticipate an agreement will be reached."
The dispute between the two companies over programming fees has gone nationwide.
A Web site called "Roll Over or Get Tough," launched by Time Warner in November, has drawn more than 800,000 visitors.
"Cable prices are already too high for the programs that we get. Leave the prices alone," one user wrote on the site.
Fox has launched its own site, called "Keep Fox On."
"No BCS college games/Tebow's last, no 24 ... this is just wrong," wrote a user. "We will cancel our current service and change to DirecTV."
Durkin said more than a million viewers use Bright House in seven counties, including Polk, in the Tampa Bay area.
Parts of Polk County are served by Comcast and are not affected by the current dispute, and viewers using antennas or satellite dishes would also be unaffected.
Durkin said there have been a "steady number of calls" from Bright House customers worried about losing Fox.
"The agreement will be reached - if not before (today) then after," Durkin wrote in an e-mail.
"Only question is if Fox will deny viewers their favorite shows and historic bowl games in an effort to exert pressure by putting customers in the middle."
Bright House customers in the Tampa area could be without WTVT Fox 13 Tampa Bay, Fox Sports Florida, Sun Sports, Fox Sports en Español, Fuel TV, Speed, FOX Soccer Channel and FX.
Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, National Geographic Channel and the Big Ten Network won't be affected.
Scott Grogin, a spokesman with Fox, said negotiations are continuing.
"We will continue to actively negotiate with Time Warner Cable in hopes of reaching a fair agreement," Grogin said.

 

[mike123abc]

The satellite companies are not going to harp on this. They do not want to poke the bear. They know that when their contract comes up they will be asked to fork over the same if TWC gives in. Right now they want TWC to win the battle and pay less than $1/sub/month for FOX.

 

[TNGTony]

I have been receiving e-mails from TWC for the last month... this one is from yesterday:

Don’t Let Them Hold Your TV Hostage

At midnight New Year’s Eve, FOX has threatened to pull the plug on Time Warner Cable customers – withholding their programming unless we pay massive price increases.

We think they’re going too far – especially in today’s economy – and we’re glad you agree. Over 600,000 of you have gone to RollOverOrGetTough.com. And, the overwhelming response has been to ‘Get Tough.’ With your support, we’re standing up to the TV networks to hold down the cost of cable TV.

We apologize in advance for any inconvenience and remind you to visit RollOverOrGetTough.com for the latest information on which channels may no longer be available as of January 1, 2010, as not all FOX programming is at risk in all areas. There you’ll also find a helpful guide to alternative sources for programming – so you can continue to watch many of your favorite shows.



Time Warner Cable is working hard to reach an agreement. We’ve offered FOX a reasonable price increase that protects our customers’ pocketbooks. But we are not giving in to excessive demands.

Don’t let them hold your TV hostage. Click here to visit RollOverOrGetTough.com now or call 1-877-267-1844 to learn more. Together, we can hold the line on TV prices.

 

[mike123abc]

Looking at rolloverorgettough.com, it encourages you to go online to get the shows from places like hulu.com. (try 10036 for a zip code).

 

[rad]

Looking at rolloverorgettough.com, it encourages you to go online to get the shows from places like hulu.com. (try 10036 for a zip code).

That's kind of funny coming from the company that wants to go with metered pricing for their internet service.

 

[dlsnyder]

They reached an agreement today. The FOX O&O stations will stay on TWC and Brighthouse. Not sure what that will mean for other MSOs going forward. Cable and SAT prices will be going up for sure as broadcasters learn how to extort more money out of them.