Tag Archives: CarriageDispute

YouTube TV, Sinclair keep Fox sports channels on as they negotiate

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On Thursday YouTube TV announced that subscribers would lose access to Fox regional sports networks and the YES network because it couldn't reach a new deal with their owner, Sinclair Broadcasting (they got there as a part of Disney's deal to buy Fox...

Time Warner Cable loses CBS channels, CBS says first time dropped from cable

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Time Warner Cable loses CBS channels, CBS says first time dropped from cable

Earlier this week negotiations between CBS and Time Warner Cable broke down and for a few minutes, channels started dropping from the cable service. An extension on the deadline brought channels back quickly, but time is up once again and subscribers are being greeted by the message above. The blackout applies to CBS in New York City, Los Angeles and Dallas, plus Showtime, The Movie Channel, Flix and Smithsonian Channel nationwide. According to CBS, this is the first time it's ever been dropped from a cable system, and it has followed up with a note from Showtime claiming TWC removed the premium channel despite authorization to keep it while negotiations continue. Time Warner Cable has its own statement, claiming CBS has "refused to have a productive discussion" since the Tuesday morning extension in talks.

With the NFL season looming we'll see how long TWC is willing to push CBS.com (which some of you have reported is being blocked by CBS), Aereo and antennas as alternative solutions in these major markets and whether CBS is willing to live without the viewership. For now, subscribers missing The Doctors can check out a video from TWC explaining exactly what happens behind the scenes when channels go dark.

Update: TechCrunch has a statement from CBS confirming it's blocked Time Warner Cable customers from streaming full episodes. This is similar to Fox blocking Cablevision subscribers on Hulu during a carriage dispute in 2010, although that turned out to be short-lived.

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Source: KeepCBS, TWC Conversations

Time Warner Cable drops CBS in NYC, LA and Dallas (update: maybe not)

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CBS channels drop from Time Warner Cable

Time Warner Cable and CBS have been negotiating over a retrans deal for quite some time, and after several extensions talks broke down tonight. TWC's static replacement page for the networks even suggests Aereo as a replacement, an interesting endorsement considering the online service's legal entanglements. According to a statement from Time Warner Cable, this means it's dropping CBS in regions including New York City, Dallas and Los Angeles. Nationally, Time Warner Cable subscribers will do without Showtime, The Movie Channel, Flix and Smithsonian Channel. As CBS' website helpfully points out, if it goes one this means subscribers will also miss college and pro football, MLB, PGA Tour and US Open events, shows like Under the Dome, CSI and more. Of course, Time Warner Cable's site points to options like the CBS.com website. We'll see who holds out, and for how long -- check after the break for a list of affected channels and areas.

Update: According to Time Warner Cable, at the request of CBS it has stopped removing the channels, so if you've been seeing a replacement screen your programs may be back very soon. Both sides indicate negotiations are ongoing, we'll let you know if there are any updates.

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Source: KeepCBS.com, TWCConversations, CNBC (Twitter)

DirecTV and Viacom deal brings MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and the rest back on the air

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After a week or so of increasingly contentious negotiations Viacom and DirecTV have come to some sort of agreement, returning the missing channels to satellite TV subscribers as of... now. Naturally, each side is sticking to its guns, and even with a long term deal inked they still disagree on the number of channels involved.

So who won? The exact financial numbers have not been revealed, but you can check out the dueling press releases after the break. The contested Epix package is an option (but not a requirement) for DirecTV, while the satellite broadcaster is happily adding access to Viacom content on mobiles, PCs and "other media devices" as a part of its DirecTV Everywhere service. Thanks to support from other pay TV providers, DirecTV is taking the more aggressive position, but we'll wait for the inevitable "people in a position to know" to chime in with some dollars and cents figures before calling a victor.

Update: As expected, Bloomberg reports "people with direct knowledge" claim the new agreement is another seven year contract priced at more than $600 million per year, about 20 percent more than what Viacom was getting before. At least one analyst called it a win for both sides -- we'll see how subscribers fared if (when) there's a rate hike any time soon.

Continue reading DirecTV and Viacom deal brings MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and the rest back on the air

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DirecTV and Viacom deal brings MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and the rest back on the air originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jul 2012 06:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceViacom Blog, DirecTV  | Email this | Comments

DirecTV and Viacom disagree on their disagreements, standoff continues

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Seeing that DirecTV and Viacom can't even agree on the number of channels that have gone off the air (one says 17, the other 26) as a result of their deal expiring last week, it's no surprise that the two are continuing to challenge each other's statements on every element of the negotiations. The latest tiff? DirecTV claims it has "accepted all material terms...including an increase that was more than fair" for the channels that were pulled, but accuses Viacom of trying to force an addition of the Epix channel package at a cost of around half a billion dollars. Viacom, for its part, calls the statement a "complete work of fiction" and accuses DirecTV of creating more obstacles in the way of a compromise. Both point of views are linked below, we figure DirecTV customers will have plenty of time to read them while they're busy not watching the new episodes of Workaholics and Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta until this is resolved.

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DirecTV and Viacom disagree on their disagreements, standoff continues originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 21:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceViacom, DirecTV (Facebook)  | Email this | Comments

Viacom channels disappear from DirecTV after the two companies can’t reach a deal

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Viacom channels disappear from DirecTV after the two companies can't reach a deal

As we feared, DirecTV and Viacom didn't work things out and before the clock struck midnight ET, all of the network's feeds went dark for the satellite company's customers. Of course, both sides are throwing barbs with Viacom saying DirecTV was not interested in engaging in "meaningful conversation" and that their last contact was at 11AM. On DirecTV's side, it's claiming it sent proposals but never heard anything back and as such was forced to pull the channels. Viacom has been running ads and notices all day to make sure kids big and little call DirecTV to apply pressure about missing their television shows. DirecTV is firing back with the Kids Mix channel (shown above) that replaces the pulled children's programming and points out content on other stations, and even suggests customers check out sources like Amazon Prime or Netflix to keep watching their shows in the meantime. There's no telling who may blink first, or when, but you can look at each company's statement and hear the sabres rattling for yourself after the break. Any bets as to who will work out a deal first between these two and Dish Network / AMC?

Continue reading Viacom channels disappear from DirecTV after the two companies can't reach a deal

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Viacom channels disappear from DirecTV after the two companies can't reach a deal originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 00:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceViacom, DirecTV Promise  | Email this | Comments

AMC dropped from Dish Network, cuts a new deal to stay on with AT&T U-verse

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AMC dropped from Dish Network, still in negotiations with AT&T

As June expired, so did AMC's contract with both Dish Network and AT&T U-verse. While negotiations continue with AT&T and its channels remain on for the moment, AMC is already firing at Dish for dropping its channel immediately (after shifting it to an entirely different channel number a few weeks ago), claiming no negotiations have even taken place. As we heard in May, AMC maintains that the real issue is a court case between the two over the Voom HD debacle. For its part, Dish is telling customers the problem is fee increases requested by AMC and "devaluing" its programming by offering it on iTunes, Netflix and Amazon.com. As a result it's swapping in commercial-free HDNet Movies for AMC, and replacing two other AMC channels, WE and IFC, with Style and HDNet (soon to become AXS TV). We'll see how these negotiations go -- it's not too bad now but let's see how viewers react once the new season of Breaking Bad starts airing July 15th.

Update: As we went live, AT&T has announced it reached an agreement with AMC Networks, so it's only Dish Network that's on the hotseat now. [Thanks, @soulfliesfree]

Continue reading AMC dropped from Dish Network, cuts a new deal to stay on with AT&T U-verse

AMC dropped from Dish Network, cuts a new deal to stay on with AT&T U-verse originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Jul 2012 14:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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