View Full Version : TV wars, coming to your carrier?
oddlycalm
01-03-10, 06:46 PM
In the last 12 months talks between cable operators and program providers have become even more tense. Programmers have been seeking better affiliate fees as they have seen advertising revenue hurt by the U.S. economic downturn and remain uncertain about the future of TV advertising as more marketers turn to the Web.
TV wars (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE60001O20100102)
A story that's not exactly front page news, but effects a lot of people, owners of the various TV networks have been squeezing cable companies for more revenue as advertising revenue has dropped. No surprise that Rupert Murdoch is among those squeezing the hardest. Fox was insisting Time Warner pay it $1 per subscriber for it's channels which include Fox, Fox News, Fox Sports, FX, Speed, etc.
Some customers in New York have lost FoodTV and HGTV after Scripps and Cablevision couldn't come to an agreement.
On the other side of the coin as cable subscriptions with all the premium channels rose above $150/month with no end in sight you have to wonder how many subscribers are having to rethink their commitment.
oc
Been there, done that. We've been through the battles locally for the past 3 years or so. It started with the local ABC/Fox affiliate (run by the Sinclair Group out of Philly) threatening to pull it's programming w/o a new carriage agreement with increased fees for the HD signal. Then there was the Big Ten Network (partners with Fox) and the NFL Network (still unresolved with TWC). In addition to those skirnishes, I just read an article the other day about the 'free' broadcast networks going dark in a couple of years (http://www.miamiherald.com/news/5min/story/1402576.html). This will only get worse as the networks continue to create niche content channels, and the sports leagues demanding more and more $$$. There will come a tipping point in the very near future. The cost per new subscriber has got to be phenomenal these days with the battles b/w the likes of AT&T, DirecTV, Comcast and Time Warner. :eek: Which also means the existing subscriber base bears the cost of acquiring the new subscribers. :shakehead :irked:
Of course, this isn't much different than the issues facing the print media these days. :(
-Kevin
TravelGal
01-03-10, 07:08 PM
Yeah, we woke up on New Year's Day wondering if Fox, et al was still on our TV. An epic game of chicken. They did not reveal how much they settled for but TW seemed pleased and News Corp less so. TW began the fun with an offer of $.30 to NC's bid of $1. The elephant in the room is really satellite TV of course. That's what TW was really bidding against so they wouldn't hemmorhage more viewers.
TKG can also weigh in here on the TWC impasse with the CBS affiliate in Boofaloo that resulted in TWC offering rabbit ears for subscribers last fall so they could watch the Bills. :laugh: :shakehead :saywhat:
-Kevin
TKGAngel
01-03-10, 07:25 PM
There was also some fun this past week between DirectTV and Rainbow Media/MSG. While the deal was renewed, affected channels included MSG, AMC & WETV. The MSG thing would have been huge up here, as it would mean no one with DTV could see Sabres games. People are cranky enough without Versus. Losing MSG would have put many over the edge. (We're a hockey community. Those three hours four nights a week are huge.)
We're also seeing a lot of cuts in the news business. Local reporters and anchors are taking pay cuts, and those reporters that remain are being forced to "backpack report" their own stories, as camerapeople in the field are becoming a rarity.
TKG can also weigh in here on the TWC impasse with the CBS affiliate in Boofaloo that resulted in TWC offering rabbit ears for subscribers last fall so they could watch the Bills
Yup, that happened. And I still have headaches thinking about how some of my clients were affected by CBS going off of TWC for that month.
http://www.freewebs.com/antennainfo/Pictures/ANT902.jpg
40 channels ..HD too. ^ :thumbup:
I find it difficult to accept that $150 price point. But get what I need....thanks to Al Gore. :gomer:
My provider, Dish Network, is involved in these disputes pretty regularly. I don't care much for the Comcast acquistion of NBC Universal. I see more of this stuff coming soon. :irked:
I don't care much for the Comcast acquistion of NBC Universal. I see more of this stuff coming soon. :irked:
IMO, this is not a good thing. It will be interesting to see how the FCC review of this joint venture goes. Owning both the pipes and the content should not be allowed, IMO. :thumdown:
-Kevin
TKGAngel
01-04-10, 02:03 PM
IMO, this is not a good thing. It will be interesting to see how the FCC review of this joint venture goes. Owning both the pipes and the content should not be allowed, IMO. :thumdown:
-Kevin
Comcast already owns Versus, but their acquisition of NBC is a much bigger fish that the FCC is going to have to fry.
Comcast already owns Versus, but their acquisition of NBC is a much bigger fish that the FCC is going to have to fry.
Yes, and TWX owned Comedy Central and a few other niche channels in the past (long since sold off like Warner Music when they purged properties to enhance the bottom line). NBC is a much, much larger issue and has the potential to cause unfair competition issues.
An interesting read I came across today (plus click on the link to the NYT article on the subject). (http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-time-warner-celebrates-fox-deal-by-jacking-up-cable-prices-again-2010-1)
-Kevin
oddlycalm
01-04-10, 04:03 PM
IMO, this is not a good thing. It will be interesting to see how the FCC review of this joint venture goes. Owning both the pipes and the content should not be allowed, IMO. :thumdown:
Agreed, further media consolidation is not a good thing. For now the excessive leverage is mostly confined to commercial issues but we are within spitting distance of allowing a handful of powerful people control everything we see and hear. Time for the FCC to wake up from it's 30yr nap and grow a pair. There's more to their job than being the F-bomb and nipple police.
oc
Sean Malone
01-04-10, 05:20 PM
Time for the FCC to wake up from it's 30yr nap and grow a pair. There's more to their job than being the F-bomb and nipple police.
oc
Not much more though...the number 1 complaint issued to the FCC is...drum roll...loud commercials. yep...and legislation is on the house floor to regulate volume levels of commercials. No lie. :)
An interesting read I came across today (plus click on the link to the NYT article on the subject). (http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-time-warner-celebrates-fox-deal-by-jacking-up-cable-prices-again-2010-1)
-Kevin
What do we do instead? Netflix DVDs, streaming, iTunes downloads. The only thing we're paying cable for right now is live sports. And we're preparing mentally to cut that cord, because we're just can't justify paying $150 a month for a couple of football games.
CC gone, F1 losing its luster. If it weren't for my wife wanting it, I would cancel.
Sean Malone
01-04-10, 05:51 PM
Judging by the amount this household has reduced its live TV viewing in the past three years, the answer is "soon."
What do we do instead? Netflix DVDs, streaming, iTunes downloads. The only thing we're paying cable for right now is live sports. And we're preparing mentally to cut that cord, because we're just can't justify paying $150 a month for a couple of football games.
Nice blog. :rolleyes: The guy predicts the end of the current business model using his own household as the indicator, cites Netflix and iTunes as possible alternatives (ain't cuttin' it) and then bemoans paying $150 to watch a "couple of football games". Sounds like a personal problem. :)
Maybe, but I think he is right. It will fall like a house of cards when it goes.
Count me as one of the folks who no longer get Food Network Or HGTV.
I think they should at least throw in a free movie channel for me while this is going on. Or a bill credit.
TKGAngel
01-04-10, 07:04 PM
Count me as one of the folks who no longer get Food Network Or HGTV.
I think they should at least throw in a free movie channel for me while this is going on. Or a bill credit.
Go for it on the credit/movie channel thing. When DirectTV and Versus showed no signs of resolution at the start of hockey season, DTV was offering its subscribers things like $100 bill credits, free NHL Center Ice or another discount to make people happy. (These were all confirmed offers, not "I heard from a guy" offers.)
oddlycalm
01-04-10, 07:40 PM
Maybe, but I think he is right.
Yeah, I don't see this as a sustainable model long term either. Real income has been relatively static since the early 90's for all but the top 20% of households with the most growth being in the top 5%. During that same time a cable subscription with all the premium channels has gone from $55/month to $160/month due to increased carriage fees to programmers and to debt service from carrier industry consolidation.
It may be anecdotal but neither of our adult kids (late 30's) have cable or satellite accounts and none of their friends do either. They either watch online or when the series comes out on disc through Netflix. Other than that it's rabbit ears. They don't have land lines for phone either and the ones that live in town don't own cars either which is why car sharing companies have exploded.
We may be more sensitive to this because we live between a medical school, a law school with some colleges as well so we have a lot of students and profs on our neighborhood. We have a lot of retired folks as well. The retired people I know have basic cable if they have it at all and every time the cost goes up some of them cancel. Because of the hills here those on the West side of the river don't have a choice because reception is dodgy.
oc
I think they should at least throw in a free movie channel for me while this is going on. Or a bill credit.
Which reminds me about a fiasco with the local TWC affiliate back in the mid-90s when they lost the Super Bowl signal for the majority of the Cbus audience. They offered a free weekend of HBO or Showtime, which was actually a free preview weekend. :gomer: :saywhat: :irked: They finally ended up doling out credits to subscribers.
-Kevin
Sean Malone
01-04-10, 10:25 PM
I get a land line, TV (and the HBO package) and 20 Mbps download Internet for $150. I've toyed with canceling the land line and even the TV but the discount for the bundle is worth it to me.
We love Netflix but to me that is just a stop gap until fiber optic comes to my neighborhood and I can get uncompressed 1080p movies.
opinionated ow
01-04-10, 10:34 PM
Nice blog. :rolleyes: The guy predicts the end of the current business model using his own household as the indicator, cites Netflix and iTunes as possible alternatives (ain't cuttin' it) and then bemoans paying $150 to watch a "couple of football games". Sounds like a personal problem. :)
Wow. In this country we're moving to digital high and standard definition free to air broadcasts and we've gone from 5 channels to 16. Two of which are a dedicated sports channel (one is HD the other the same but SD), and 3 of which are the government ABC channels. There will be a 4th ABC soon as well and the major broadcasters are pushing to be allowed to have a 3rd channel too.
I don't get any movie channels in my cable package. Luckily Netflix offers the live Starz channel, which was pretty much what I had before. Plus I've been taking advantage of the Watch Instantly feature.
I've done some research and apparently my cable co. does not give credit or additional channels in any attempt to pacify it's customers.
Sean Malone
01-04-10, 10:55 PM
I don't get any movie channels in my cable package. Luckily Netflix offers the live Starz channel, which was pretty much what I had before. Plus I've been taking advantage of the Watch Instantly feature.
I've done some research and apparently my cable co. does not give credit or additional channels in any attempt to pacify it's customers.
Threaten to cancel. Last year I told mine I was dumping my land line so they reduced my bundle cost and threw in Showtime for a year free. Don't talk to tier 1 reps...ask for their 'customer retention' dept.
Anyone have any advice on receiving over the air HD signals? It seems that they are far weaker than the old analog signals.
Steve99
01-05-10, 05:01 PM
Anyone have any advice on receiving over the air HD signals? It seems that they are far weaker than the old analog signals.
From my experience, give up and get cable. ;)
It's also been my experience that the digital over-the-air signals are harder to get than the analog signals. In the 20 years it took to transition to digital, you think they would have seen that one coming. :shakehead
Anyone have any advice on receiving over the air HD signals? It seems that they are far weaker than the old analog signals.
Dude, you don't want to know the trouble I've seen. :( It all depends on the station's signal type (UHF/VHF), location and distance. Our 4 major network stations all broadcast within a couple of miles of each other and are location in the same basic area. I found that trying to receive signals from each of them using the same antenna config was impossible. Even trying to receive the Fox signal and ABC, which come from the same broadcaster, doesn't work....even using the highest powered antenna I could find. :saywhat: :mad: :irked: As with everything digital, if you lose bits, you lose the signal unlike analog, which will @ least display some form of an image. :(
-Kevin
Dude, you don't want to know the trouble I've seen. :( It all depends on the station's signal type (UHF/VHF), location and distance. Our 4 major network stations all broadcast within a couple of miles of each other and are location in the same basic area.
If you have a strong signal the problem is usually multi-pathing. Strong signals generate strong reflections and the reflected signals can kill digital reception. When I tried I could get either everything and FOX or everything and CBS, but never both of them.
If you have a strong signal the problem is usually multi-pathing. Strong signals generate strong reflections and the reflected signals can kill digital reception. When I tried I could get either everything and FOX or everything and CBS, but never both of them.
Possibly, but you live in a diff'rent part of town, which could also be affected more by taller buildings. Where my van is located, there's nothing in the way. The fact that 28 and 6 were totally different despite coming from the same tower was due to the UHF/VHF issue and quite frustrating.
-Kevin
I was missing a few channels, a common Shack 25db amp fixed it.
cameraman
01-05-10, 07:53 PM
Salt Lake has Farnsworth Peak, an aptly named mountain west of town. At 9273 ft sits the 300 foot DTV Utah transmitter tower.
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii35/Cynops/farnsworth.jpg
From just about anywhere in Salt Lake you set up your antenna and point it at the blinking red light at the top of the mountain (aiming is easiest at night) you can sight right along the main tube of the antenna.
Done, 100% signal strength for all local stations.
That antenna is 5000 ft above the majority of Salt Lake City.
extramundane
01-05-10, 08:27 PM
I was missing a few channels, a common Shack 25db amp fixed it.
Tried one of those, didn't work. A bent paperclip in the coax input did. Go figure.
Tried one of those, didn't work. A bent paperclip in the coax input did. Go figure.
Out of tin foil? :gomer: That might be the only possible 'fix' I didn't try while pulling out my hair trying to get an HD signal on the ABC channel to watch the Bucks in HD several years ago. :saywhat: :shakehead
-Kevin
An exterior antenna is out of the question. There is one in the attic, from a previous owner, but it is hooked to a coax which seems to lead away to nowhere, so I would have some serious wiring work to do.
I will try the paper clip thing. :gomer:
extramundane
01-06-10, 11:19 AM
Out of tin foil? :gomer:
Leave my hat selection out of this.
That might be the only possible 'fix' I didn't try while pulling out my hair trying to get an HD signal on the ABC channel to watch the Bucks in HD several years ago. :saywhat: :shakehead
It always worked like a charm for analog OTA, but I was quite surprised when it worked for HD OTA as well. At work, we couldn't pick up the ABC or Fox analog broadcasts, but a paperclip got us the HD feeds with no issues.
oddlycalm
01-06-10, 03:15 PM
Considering all the years antennas have been made, and given the fact that the bent paperclip and tin foil tweaks have consistently worked that entire time, you gotta wonder why some antenna company hasn't just gone ahead and incorporated these tweaks into a finished product....:gomer: Instead, personal use antenna technology is right about where it was in the 1950's. :shakehead Seriously, in what other field has their been zero effort to develop anything new for half a century?
oc
extramundane
01-06-10, 03:26 PM
Seriously, in what other field has their been zero effort to develop anything new for half a century?
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2008/06/16/090111.1-lg.jpg
Not directly related, but it is related to restricting content...
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-10426792-261.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0
In a groundbreaking deal for online movie rentals, Netflix and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced Wednesday that they have expanded their licensing arrangement for streaming movies, and Netflix now has licensing rights to more of the studio's catalog content. In exchange, Netflix agreed to do something it has never done before. The movie-by-mail service won't offer new releases from the studio on DVD or Blu-ray discs until 28 days after they go on sale.
:saywhat: :mad: :thumdown:
-Kevin
oddlycalm
01-07-10, 06:19 PM
Not directly related, but it is related to restricting content...
Definitely related. Every content company will have some kind of new distribution strategy whether it's vertical integration and squeezing the carriers he don't own (Murdoch) or something else. Some may have multiple strategies.
Netflix streaming service hasn't been that exciting to me because while the decent SD image may look fine on a laptop or small monitor it isn't great on a large display compared to HD. I lost interest pretty fast so I'd not be happy with an additional month delay on new titles in trade for more streaming content.
Meanwhile Amazon's pay per view downloads are great quality but and $4-$5 expensive. On top of that, if I downloaded enough of them, my ISP would ding me for a premium charge as well.
Like cable, some of these strategies are going to blow up in their faces if the buyers find them unaffordable or unpalatable. I can't tell you how many people that had premium cable at $60 dropped out on the way to $150 but I know it's a big number in this economy.
oc
datachicane
01-07-10, 06:29 PM
Sure seems like they're doing their absolute damnedest to push us into the arms of the Swedish pirates and associates, whom they'll no doubt blame for any resulting downturn in business.
Shortsighted idiots, along with the RIAA.
Steve99
01-11-10, 03:30 PM
Not directly related, but it is related to restricting content...
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-10426792-261.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0
:saywhat: :mad: :thumdown:
-Kevin
Not too big a deal to me, but I'm pretty patient. If I didn't see it in theaters, waiting another 4 weeks isn't going to bother me.
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