The holidays have kept me away, but my rants continue endlessly and relentlessly in my head. The most recent thing bugging me in this Fox vs. Time Warner Cable fiasco. Apparently their behind the scenes contract is up for renewal and News Corp. - owner of channels such as Fox Broadcasting, FX and Fox Sports - is reportedly seeking an increase of $1 per month per subscriber. Of course Time Warner Cable isn't going to foot the $14 million bill every month, so its just going to trickle down to its 14 million subscribers/viewers as a rate hike. So what's new, right? Same old, same old. Not quite.
Like all cable companies, Time Warner Cable pays networks to air their content. But broadcast stations like NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox have traditionally been licensed to cable providers for free. Until now that is. Fox is the first to demand a fee. Will the others follow the trailblazer? We'll just have to wait and see. If so, what will happen to TV as we know it? Will it become a complete luxury item? But the question that's really been bugging me is who really stands to lose the most if this deal goes bust at midnight on Dec. 31 and Time Warner pulls the plug on Fox in January?
Like all cable companies, Time Warner Cable pays networks to air their content. But broadcast stations like NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox have traditionally been licensed to cable providers for free. Until now that is. Fox is the first to demand a fee. Will the others follow the trailblazer? We'll just have to wait and see. If so, what will happen to TV as we know it? Will it become a complete luxury item? But the question that's really been bugging me is who really stands to lose the most if this deal goes bust at midnight on Dec. 31 and Time Warner pulls the plug on Fox in January?
Will it be viewers when they can't get their fix of Fox programming unless they make the switch to satellite? Will it be Time Warner Cable when upset subscribers ditch them? Or will it be Mr. Rupert Murdoch, a stake holder in DirectTV and owner of News Corp., when advertisers walk away when he can't deliver the audience they have come to expect?
Get ready Mr. Rupert Murdoch. My guess is your ego has a blow coming its way. I really doubt enough Time Warner Cable viewers will miss Fox programming, and those who do will just get their fix online for free at their leisure and convenience. Also, maybe to meet your high demands Time Warner Cable could offer Fox as a "premium channel" alongside HBO, Showtime, etc. Let's see just how many people are really willing to pay extra for your content. I love the Simpsons, but not that much. Good luck buddy. Just a thought.
1 comment:
Isn't this the same thing that happened with NBC vs. local TWC affiliates last year? TWC refused to pay and dropped NBC for a few months. The dispute was loud and ugly for several months leading up to it, but then quietly resolved. I am not sure what happened in the end (if TWC agreed to pay something or NBC backed down), but one of TWC big arguments was that now all of the OTA networks would try to cash in and ask for payment to rebroadcast their free content...
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