WKMG are idiots.

[Saxamoophone]

They really showed off how stupid they are today.

I hope brighthouse drops their greedy asses.

Any chance CBS corp would let the BH pick up another CBS feed? I know there are some federal laws in work here...but...they should really be a clause in there for idiots.

WKMG has awful local news (stretch-o-vision itself makes me want to turn them off) as it is.

 

[stevenl]

what did they do? I know there was contract disputes.

 

[Saxamoophone]

They are trying to get their viewers to harass brighthouse into paying them. Through their news program, a 800 number hotline for questions, and over their website wkmg.com.

They took the whole thing out to the public, saying how they want "their share" from brighthouse.

And of course most of the public is stupid enough to side with them.....If they really just told the public the truth: we want to raise your cable bill $5 a house (since you know if BH yields to WKMG, EVERY local channel would want a piece of the action), who would really side with them?

And of course WKMG has the president of Brighthouse's email and phone number listed all over their website, yet, make it VERY hard to find the WKMG station manager's email address.....

So I sent a letter to BH asking them to "keep up a good fight" and sent a nasty letter to WKMG telling them to lay off the greed, and that I would just watch their shows on CBS.com and bypass them all together.

 

[BFG]

 

[jcarrera]

I couldn't care less either way, UNLESS MY CABLE BILL GOES UP. WKMG is such a lousy station, I don't watch it much at all.

It seems to me that there is logic in the observation that distributing the signal on cable does give WKMG a much broader coverage than otherwise--and that has value.

It is also true that having WKMG on cable MAY give BHN some additional income. Maybe not. I certainly don't know whether that nets out as more of a $$ benefit to WKMG or to BHN. It might be that WKMG should pay BHN to distribute its signal. I just don't know who benefits most.

 

[iceturkee]

truthfully, i think both sides are at fault for this mess. but shame on channel 6 for airing their dirty laundry. that's irresponsible journalism.

btw, those of you in the orlando area who read the sentinel might be amused to know that tv critic hal bodekker emailed wanting to interview me for the first story he wrote last week about this mess. i was quickly disqualified after i mentioned the secret words.....use to freelance for your paper. that and i do know a couple of people who work at WKMG!

 

[stevenl]

Yea what crap on WKMG side. They are risking losing a solid 1 million subs in the CFL area having access to their channel. Because they want to charge for a free service. If wkmg disconnects its service 1 million people will no longer be watching that channel. How many of them also have an antenna? Id bet very small amount.

The problem is not the price WKMG wants. Its the precedent it will make. Their are what 6 or more local stations in this area, who will then want a bit of the pie. Guess whos paying the bill.. Ill give you a hint BHN does not pay for ANY channel it has..

From the WKMG site is full of lies
--
Bright House captures the signal for free and sends it to their customers -- charging those customers a minimum of $52 a month for a basic cable package.
WKMG-TV Shows May Go Dark Over Bright House Cable Fee Dispute - Orlando News Story - WKMG Orlando
--

The minimum to get WKMG is more like 20bucks with tax!

 

[stevenl]

My email to WKMG:

I was wondering why you are lying to you viewers on both your tv and website. Claiming BHN's basic backage is 52$ a month. BHN Standard package is 52.99. BHN Basic cable (which is their "Antenna Service") is less then 25$ a month WITH taxes. Please stop feeding false information to you viewers.

Bright House Networks, provides your channel to hundreds of thousands of people who otherwise would not be able to receive it, now even more so then ever with the transmission limits of the digital signals. Without Bright House broadcasting your channels (at no cost to its subscribers for the channel) you would not have the audiance you enjoy now. You also claim its pennies on the dollar yes, that may be true per person. But were talking MILLIONS of dollars a year. Lets at least be honest here.

The precedent this will set will make other local stations want to do the same thing in this market. Guess what that means, instead of Bright House customers having to pay more just for your channel they will have to pay for FOX NBC etc, Our cable bills are high enough as it is to not have to pay for a BROADCAST station. Bright House customers would expect a bill increase of 1-2$ a month, paying for all the local stations. You also say DISH and Direct pay you for your signal. That may be true but they charge customers an extra 5-7$ a month for the local stations. Bright House Charges nothing extra for them. They are not factored into the cost of the cable service.

Bottom line, stop lying to your viewers at least be honest. Let them make the choice based on the honest situation not your dogma.

 

[iceturkee]

My email to WKMG:

You also say DISH and Direct pay you for your signal. That may be true but they charge customers an extra 5-7$ a month for the local stations. Bright House Charges nothing extra for them. They are not factored into the cost of the cable service.

incorrect......directv hasn't charged extra for local channels in almost 4 years. i can't speak for dish network.

 

[stevenl]

Dish Network
Orlando, FL DMA Package $5.00

5$ for locals.

Directv = free

So I was half wrong my bad

 

[dishrich]

Technically, D* does charge for local channels - because if you are NOT in a LIL market, they reduce ALL pkgs that contain locals by $3; it's been this way for quite some time. (it's in the tiny print on their brochures)
But, by the same token, they NO longer give new LIL subs the option of NOT having locals, so I guess in that sense, they ARE free.

 

[Saxamoophone]

truthfully, i think both sides are at fault for this mess. but shame on channel 6 for airing their dirty laundry. that's irresponsible journalism.

Yeah, I agree, their one-sided "news" on wkmg.com over this whole thing just shows how awful their station really is.

I got this letter from the BH today:

Thank you for contacting me in support of our unfortunate dispute regarding retransmission of WKMG, Local 6 on our system. I appreciate the time you took to write as well as your decision to use our services. We appreciate your business.

I have been very pleased at the volume of messages supporting our fight to keep wholesale programming costs low and thus retail rates more competitive. Interestingly, people understand the issues pretty well and see exactly what is happening. We remain strongly committed to doing everything in our power to find a solution.

Negotiations between Bright House Networks and WKMG have been positive. We expect that to continue, and we are confident that we will reach an agreement that allows us to continue to carry WKMG on our network. We thoroughly understand our customers’ desire for resolution.

Broadcast TV has been free over the air for everyone, cable and non-cable customers for more than 50 years, ever since cable started in the late 1940s. Post Newsweek, the owners of WKMG are trying to charge Central Florida cable customers for what others receive for free using the public airwaves. This would be the first time Bright House customers would pay a fee to broadcasters for programming that is free over the air and would thus set a precedent for other broadcasters to follow suit.

We have offered WKMG equal terms to what we offer and provide other broadcasters anywhere else in the country. We will continue to negotiate in good faith and seek an agreement that is fair to Bright House Networks, WKMG and our customers.

We will continue to carry WKMG unless they demand we not carry them or they deny us the legal right to do so.

We know our customers want this issue solved and so do we. We continue to believe we will find the appropriate solution that will not impact customer rates.

Again, thank you for your business and for your support on this matter. I hope to have good news to report soon. Stay tuned.

Sincerely,


J. Christian Fenger
President, Central Florida Division
Bright House Networks

 

[iceturkee]

btw, you guys read about the exclusive offer dish network is offering central florida residents. i don't recall the specifics but bodekker had it in his wednesday tv guy blog.

 

[Khandurian]

I haven't watched that channel in over 10 years. I know several other people who haven't watched that channel in as many years as well.

Quite honestly, my tv in my bedroom and the main living room tv stay planted on Fox35! The only time we really change from that channel is when were doing a PPV Movie or PPV Sporting Event.

I say BHN should DROP EM like a hot potato and REFUSE to pick them back up for 2 years after they realize they just lost all those other viewers.

 

[stevenl]

Well you remember the email I sent right? This is the response see if ANY question was answerd.

Thank you for contacting me about keeping Local 6 and CBS on Bright House Networks, and I appreciate your concern during this time of contract negotiations between WKMG and Bright House Networks. We have received tremendous positive response from viewers who value CBS programming and what Local 6 brings to this community. WKMG is committed to the residents of Central Florida and you can rest assured, we are working diligently to resolve this with Bright House before you are affected.



Still, it is unfortunate that Bright House has decided to publish untruths in order to alarm its customers and scare them into believing that as a result of these negotiations Bright House will have to raise their rates.



Many of our viewers have spoken to Bright House representatives directly over the past few days and some of the information being given out has often been borderline fictitious. Surely management at national corporation such as Bright House would not condone scaring the public with the promise of an increased cable bill. In an attempt to clarify the issues, we have added a FAQ section to our website as well as a FACT vs. FICTION. I ask you to please click on the link included to get the truth. As always there are two sides to the negotiation and hopefully this site will help you better understand the details from both sides.

We have always and will continue to transmit all of our programming to the Central Florida public, free of charge. And many satellite providers and cable companies both locally and nationally have already found a way to work with local stations to retransmit network programming without raising rates and still maintaining low costs for their subscribers. Bright house should be held to the same standards.

I am in daily contact with Bright House and continue to remain confident that everything will be worked out before the contract deadline so that no one in Central Florida will be inconvenienced by this issue of fairness in broadcasting. Get the facts at Orlando News, Florida Breaking News, Headlines & Orlando Weather - WKMG Local6.


Thank you for your time and concern,




Henry Maldonado

Vice President and General Manager

WKMG-TV Local 6

Orlando Florida

 

[stevenl]

My response to them:

appreciate the generic reponse you did not answer any of the questions I posed. First let me speak about your email. Of course Bright House will raise the cable rates if this goes through. BHN does not pay for a single channel. The viewers pay for the channels. So in increase in channel rate, means in increase it cost to the viewer. That is just one of the lies you are spreading. Lets break down a few more

1. On your website and on the broadcast you claim to receive WKMG you need to order a package for $52. This is untrue and a blatant lie. (not borderline fictious but a lie) The package needed to see wkmg is only around 25$ including taxes! So please update your site to reflect the truth, if that is what you really are after.

2. BHN Does not pay ANY other local carrier for their signal. They all seem to do just fine on advertising revenue. Is local6’s programming that bad they need to earn some extra money even from people who do not watch your channel?

3. Yes other companies do pay to retransmit local stations, and those other companies put that cost into the price. Dish Network charges 5$ for local channels. Again another untruth you spread.

Why don’t you start being a repsonsibile broad cast company and instead of using your airwaves to spread your agenda at least spread the truth. Like instead of saying “WKMG is asking for pennies” Say “WKMG is asking for MILLIONS” because that’s what it is.

 

[jcarrera]

The "viewer count" number has to be very important to WKMG. It determines how much they can sell their ad time for. That's supremely important. Of course it is tracked by time slot and demographic, but if cable doesn't carry it, ALL time slots go to zero cable viewers.

I would think this would be a MAJOR bargaining chip in BHN's pocket--so I can't even believe WKMG is getting ANYWHERE with this stuff.

I guess it seems to me BHN could indeed tell them to stuff it...WKMG needs those viewers.

 

[stevenl]

Check out their "Fact vs Fiction" section

local6.com - Sponsors

Im going through now so far I have found little fact.

 

[iceturkee]

but steven, really hasn't the thought crossed your mind that once channels 2 and 9's contracts are set to expire, they'll demand the same thing? WKMG is being singled out. but they are the only channel in town with a contract about to expire.

 

[Saxamoophone]

I love how they are saying "Don't let Brighthouse pull the plug...." when brighthouse isn't doing ANYTHING here. WKMG are the ones who came in the a house full of demands...