December 30th, 2009 
joel UPDATED (Sat. January 2nd, 6:30 AM ET): TWC’s & Fox joint news release issued Friday night, Jan. 1:
The Fox Networks Group and Time Warner Cable announced today that they have agreed in principle to a comprehensive distribution agreement to provide more than 13 million households with programming from Fox Television Stations, Fox Broadcasting (FOX), Fox Cable Networks and Fox’s regional sports networks. The deal also includes carriage agreements for Bright House Networks’ 2 million additional subscribers.
“We’re pleased that, after months of negotiations, we were able to reach a fair agreement with Time Warner Cable — one that recognizes the value of our programming,” said Chase Carey, Deputy Chairman, President and COO, News Corporation.
“We’re happy to have reached a reasonable deal with no disruption in programming for our customers,” said Glenn Britt, Chairman, President and CEO, Time Warner Cable.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Apparently, Time Warner Cable has money to buy full-color full page newspaper ads, but doesn’t want to pay more for some cable channels owned by FOX/News Corp.
Much as in the continuing debacle with NFL Network, TWC is taking the position of consumer protector in objecting to increased carrying fees. This time it is the entertainment side of FOX, including, in the City of Erie:
- Fuel
- Fox Reality Channel
- Speed Channel
- Fox Soccer Channel
- Fox Sports World Espanol
- FX
Notice that the list does NOT include Fox News Channel or the regional Fox sports channels, which would most likely cause a major uprising. According to the ad on page 8D in Wednesday’s Erie Times-News, these “channels may no longer be available as of January 1, 2010.”
For me, there’s not a channel on that list that I’ll skip a beat about. But for my neighbor the NASCAR fan, or the guy next door who’s an amateur BMXer, this is gonna hurt.
What’s frustrating is these negotiations should be mutually beneficial, but there is a bit of an upper hand on part of FOX. If TWC continues to drop channels, they will eventually lose market share to Direct TV, DISH and in other markets, Verizon’s FIOS. But I won’t shed a tear for a cable company that thoroughly enjoys their exclusive monopoly in the municipalities in and around Erie, and issued a huge double digit rate increase just a couple months ago.
If you want to weigh in on the negotiations, go to TWC’s RollOverOrGetTough.com.
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Don’t we go through this nearly every year with Time Warner? Dire warnings that we are to lose cable channels and in the end it all somehow seems to work out at the 11th hour. And I have no doubt that’s the way it’ll play out this time as well. As for that group of channels, FX is the only one that I marginally care about.
The cable monopoly with Time Warner in Erie county. It’s either TWC or Dish network if you want local channels included in your satellite package in the Erie region. Let’s not forget the NFL NFC Playoffs & BCS (which Fox still airs until the BCS goes to ESPN.) Erie needs choices for those who cannot put up a dish in apartment complexes but options like FIOS or another cable outlet like Comcast will not happen for years if ever.
Rupert Murdoch just wants your money. I don’t think that he (RM) will risk losing any revenues or viewers. He’s just trying to rip off TWC. I hate RM and FOX so I could care less if he loses a few bucks.
I should have said about the NFC Playoffs on Fox for Fox O&O stations in some markets that could be pulled off TWC.
PR,
so TWC charges so much for what? rainbows & unicorns? They want your money too. You just hate that a News channel can have something other than a “tingle up my leg” attitude and do well. My guess is you are going to hate the results of the 2010 elections.