First published HERE by cnet news on January 12th. By Marguerite Reardon.

Verizon Communications is reportedly jacking up its early termination fee for its Fios TV service.

The company plans to double the fee to $360 from the $179 it currently charges customers for canceling their service early, according to reports. The new fee would apply to new customers who sign up for service on or after January 17. And it would only apply when customers cancel service before their two-year service contract ends.

News of the fee hike was first reported by the blog DSL Reports.The Philadelphia Inquirer confirmed the change with documents it obtained from the company. A Verizon spokesman declined to comment for CNET’s story.

“We don’t have anything to announce on this front right now,” a spokeswoman said in an e-mail.

The Inquirer reported that the new $360 Verizon fee will be prorated, decreasing over the life of the 24-month contract. This means that subscribers canceling their service in the middle of their contract would pay less than those canceling at the beginning of their contract.

For example, a Fios subscriber who signs a two-year contract and cancels within three months of his contract, would pay $330, according to Verizon documents. If the customer cancels after 16 months, the fee would be $135, the Inquirer reports.

The new early termination fee would take effect for new customers starting January 17. And there will be no grace period. Previously, Verizon has offered customers the option of trying out the service for 15 days. And if they cancel the service before the 15 day period is over, they are not charged the early termination fee.

News of Verizon’s increased early termination fee comes at a time when the Federal Communications Commission is looking into a similar early termination fee hike instituted late last year by Verizon Wireless. In November, the company, which is jointly owned by Verizon Communications and Vodafone, announced it was increasing its $175 early termination fee to a whopping $350 for “advanced devices,” such as smartphones. Verizon is also prorating this fee, which decreases by $10 for every month of service over the life of the two-year contract.

In early December, the FCC sent a letter to Verizon asking the company to explain why the new fee is necessary and how it will be implemented. Verizon has provided some preliminary answers. The FCC hasn’t made any official comments on Verizon’s answers, but early indications suggest the FCC isn’t satisfied with Verizon’s initial answers.

“Verizon’s response to the FCC [on early termination fees] has raised more questions than it has answered,” FCC chairman Julius Genachowski said last week during a press briefing at the 2010 CES trade show in Las Vegas. “What strikes me is that there is a very real level of consumer confusion around these fees.”

While the FCC and Congress have each questioned the wireless and paid TV industries about their early termination fees, the practice persists. Not only does it make it more difficult for consumers to switch service, but it also makes it more difficult for competitors who are offering to pay those early termination fees to get consumers to switch.

The Inquirer reports that Comcast, Verizon’s chief competitor in many parts of the country, has been stealing back Fios TV and Internet customers by offering big discounts and rebates on the Fios early termination fees for customers who switch to Comcast’s services before their contracts with Verizon end.

With a higher fee, Comcast would undoubtedly have a more difficult time offering to pay a rebate to customers willing to break their contracts and switch to Comcast.

Whether the early termination fee is being paid by a competitor or the consumer, one thing is clear, it is meant to keep customers locked into a service. The FCC has not asked Verizon specifically about its cable and TV early termination fees. It will be interesting to see whether, if and when this fee is increased, the FCC will expand its inquiry to include it as well as the fees on smartphones.

First published HERE by Bennington Banner on January 10th. By Adam Samrov.

Time Warner subscribers in both Hoosick and Cambridge are likely to see their bills increase nearly 10 percent starting on Feb. 1.

As operational costs rise and stations demand money from providers like Time Warner, costs inevitably get pushed onto the consumer, said Jeff Unaitis, vice president of communications for the upstate New York region.

“There’s never a good time to adjust pricing. In recent weeks we have been sharing that rising programming fees and operational costs have a real impact on customer rates,” Unaitis said in an e-mail on Friday afternoon.

The largest increase comes from the standard service, or analog lineup, which is considered to be channels from 2 through 79. The cost will go up from $55.05 to $60.50, a $5.45 or 9.6 percent jump, in Hoosick, and from $56.45 to $61.95, a $5.50 or 9.7 percent jump, in Cambridge.

“Rate adjustments help with those costs,” Unaitis said. “We not only have employee costs going up but also programming costs as well.”

Recently, Time Warner has been battling Fox over demands that TWC pay for the use of Fox’s broadcast signal.

“We’ve negotiated with cable companies, like ESPN for example, for years,” Unaitis said. “In a challenging economy, however, a company can’t rely solely on advertising revenue.”

Costs for most of Time Warner’s services, including their “All the Best” packages, are going up anywhere from $4 to $7 per month depending on the complexity of the package between television, internet and digital phone service. But with the price hikes come more television choices.

“We’ve doubled our (numbers of) high definition (HD) channels and we have nearly 90 channels of start over,” Unaitis said, referring to the technology to begin a show again even if the first few minutes is missed. “We’ve really made a big investment in the technology.”

Rates for basic cable, considered as channels 2 through 22 in both areas, will not change. Hoosick subscribers pay $12 per month for that service, while Cambridge is charged $9.10 per month.

Basic cable rates for New York state are regulated by the Public Service Commission in Albany and those rates haven’t changed in a few years, Unaitis said.

TIME WARNER: Customers’ bills last saw increase for services in March

First published HERE by Watertown Daily Times on January 2nd. By Jamie Munks.

Time Warner Cable customers soon will be paying more for cable, phone and Internet service.

The company said it will increase rates for standard cable and package services by 6 percent to 8 percent starting Feb. 1, the second increase in the past 11 months. Time Warner last raised its rates in March.

Time Warner Cable spokesman James J. Gordon said the current increases are due to price increases by program providers and an increase in the company’s normal operating cost. Another factor is increased use of Time Warner Cable features, including the “start over” and video-on-demand features the company offers, Mr. Gordon said.

“People are staying home more because of the current economic situation,” Mr. Gordon said. “And customers are finding value in these enhancements.”

The company currently offers 107 high-definition channels and 90 channels with the “start over” feature, which allows customers to start a show over that has already begun. The company plans to add more channels with these features this year. An exact number of new channels offered with the features is unknown at this time, he said.

The company also will add 25 customer-service positions in the Central and Northern New York area this month.

“Our goal in doing this is to enhance the customer experience,” Mr. Gordon said.

Mr. Gordon said he doesn’t think the rate increases will prompt many Time Warner Cable customers to switch to another provider, because of the local customer service the company offers.

“We’re more than ready to compete,” Mr. Gordon said.

Customers can expect to see the following increases on their cable bills this year:

■ A combination of standard and basic cable service costs will increase from $62.50 to $67.75, an increase of about 8 percent.

■ The Surf ‘n’ View package will increase from $105.50 to $111.95, an increase of about 8 percent.

■ The Talk ‘n’ View package will increase from $100.50 to $108.95, an increase of about 8 percent.

■ The All the Best package, including cable, phone and Internet service, will rise from $135.50 to $144.95, an increase of about 7 percent.

Verizon FiOS, a new cable provider in the area, has a basic package that includes cable, telephone and Internet service for $109.99 to $129.99.

Satellite television provider DirecTV also has announced rate increases of 3 percent to 5 percent, which also will take effect Feb. 1.

First published HERE by The Wall Street Journal on December 31st. By Amy Schatz.

The nation’s top telecommunications regulator waded into the ongoing programming negotiations between News Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc., urging the companies to reach a temporary agreement and prevent subscribers from losing some Fox channels.

“I have urged Fox and Time Warner Cable to agree to a temporary extension of carriage if they do not come to terms on a new carriage agreement today, in order to prevent disruption to their viewers,” said Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, in a written statement Thursday. “Companies shouldn’t force cable-watching football fans to scramble for other means of TV delivery on New Year’s weekend.”

The companies are arguing over how much Time Warner would pay News Corp., which owns The Wall Street Journal, for the right to carry its cable and broadcast channels. News Corp. is asking for a $1 per subscriber each month for its Fox channels while Time Warner has suggested a figure closer to 30 cents per subscriber.

The current retransmission contract between the two companies expires at midnight Dec. 31.

Mr. Genachowski’s aides have been in daily contact with News Corp. and Time Warner executives for progress reports on the negotiations. If those talks don’t result in at least a temporary reprieve for Time Warner subscribers, the FCC would consider ordering News Corp. to continue offering its channels for a short period of time, an FCC officials said.

Agency officials are concerned about consumers who would have no option for viewing Fox’s broadcast channels because they don’t have newer TVs that can pick up digital signals. “Given it’s a holiday weekend and many stores might be closed [Friday], we could require carriage for three days or whatever to give consumers the ability to get a converter box or whatever they need” to watch Fox’s local stations, an FCC official said.

A News Corp. spokeswoman didn’t immediately have comment on the FCC chairman’s letter. Time Warner Cable has previously said it would be amenable to a suggestion by Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.) to a temporary extension and on Thursday said it would accept a 30-day cooling off period suggested by another lawmaker.

In a separate carriage dispute, Sinclair Broadcasting Group Inc. and Mediacom Communications announced they’d agreed to an eight-day extension to their current contract, which also expires at midnight local time. Lawmakers and the FCC urged the companies to reach at least a temporary agreement so that Mediacom’s cable customers in Iowa and elsewhere would still be able to watch college football bowl games, most notably the Jan. 5 Orange Bowl between the University of Iowa and Georgia Tech University.

First published HERE by businessweek.com on December 30th. By Andy Fixmer and Kelly Riddell.

News Corp. said it’s not likely to reach an agreement with Time Warner Cable Inc. and expects to pull Fox broadcasting from the cable system when their deal expires tomorrow.

“We deeply regret that millions of Fox customers will be deprived of our programming,” Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey said today in a memo to employees. “We need to receive fair compensation from Time Warner Cable to go forward.”

The two sides have been unable to come to terms since midyear, Carey said. Time Warner Cable would accept federal mediation, Chief Executive Officer Glenn Britt wrote in a letter to U.S. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, a proposal News Corp. rejected. Both sides will continue to negotiate up to the deadline, Carey said.

“Fox isn’t looking for fair compensation and we too are prepared to be without the Fox signal,” Alex Dudley, a Time Warner Cable spokesman, said in an interview. “We hope Fox doesn’t punish our customers, but that decision is up to them.”

The dispute centers on the price News Corp. wants New York- based Time Warner Cable, the second biggest U.S. cable operator, to pay for Fox programs including college and National Football League games and “American Idol,” the most-watched U.S. TV series. Fox has attracted the biggest 18-to-49 age audience, a group that advertisers target, since 2004, Carey said.

Fox can’t continue to operate at the same level with only advertising revenue, Carey said.

“It’s mutually assured destruction if they don’t reach an agreement,” Matthew Harrigan, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities in Denver, said in an interview. “This is a real face-off and these guys aren’t posturing.”

Arbitration Welcome

As an alternative to arbitration, Time Warner Cable would like to enter into an interim agreement to continue carrying Fox programs including football games on New Year’s Day and beyond, Britt wrote. Carey ruled out an extension in the memo.

“Time Warner Cable welcomes your proposal to submit the dispute to binding arbitration,” Britt wrote to Kerry, a Democrat. Arbitration before the U.S. Federal Communications Commission can begin “immediately,” Britt said. A copy of the letter, dated Dec. 29 and released today by Time Warner Cable, was sent to Carey.

Scott Grogin, a spokesman for Fox, had no comment on the arbitration offer. Jen Howard, an FCC spokeswoman, declined to comment on whether the agency may mediate the dispute.

News Corp., the New York-based media company controlled by Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, fell 6 cents to $13.91 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. Time Warner Cable dropped 60 cents to $41.83 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

Price Per Subscriber

News Corp. has asked Time Warner Cable to pay as much as $1 a month per subscriber for rights to Fox, home of “The Simpsons,” two people with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Time Warner Cable favored about 20 cents, said one of the people, who declined to be identified because the talks are private.

“Fox, to ensure the long-term health of the broadcast business, needs to get more compensation,” said Harrigan, who recommends buying shares of both companies. “From Time Warner Cable’s vantage point, there’s not a lot of growth on the revenue side because there’s more competition, and programming costs keep going up more than the cost of inflation.”

Time Warner Cable may have to pay Fox at least 50 cents a month in retransmission fees, Rich Greenfield, an analyst at Pali Capital LLC in New York, wrote last week in a note.

In January, Time Warner Cable signed a new five-year agreement to pay for CBS Corp.’s flagship television network through 2013.

Some channels may be lost in Fox-Time Warner feud

First published HERE by cincinnatil.com on December 28th. By Mike Boyer.

Thousands of cable TV customers in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky are getting higher monthly bills from Time Warner Cable in Southwest Ohio and Insight Communications Inc. in Northern Kentucky.

And Time Warner customers who watch FX, Speed and four other Fox cable channels could be in for a shock New Year’s Day. Six of Fox’s cable channels – including Fuel, Fox Reality Channel, Fox Soccer and Fox Sports en Espanol – might be unavailable in Greater Cincinnati if the cable operator can’t reach an agreement with Fox Network owner News Corp.

News Corp. is threatening to remove Fox channels from Time Warner systems if the cable provider doesn’t agree to pay higher fees of as much as $1 for each subscriber, possibly setting a precedent for broadcasters seeking to offset declining advertising revenues.

Time Warner is fighting back with full-page newspaper ads and a Web site www.RollOverOrGetTough.com where viewers can voice their opinion. Since Fox doesn’t own or operate stations in the Cincinnati area, programming on Fox News and Fox Sports here isn’t affected.

Time Warner, which has more than 64,000 cable, Internet and digital phone customers in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, said News Corp.’s demand means higher programming costs, which contributed to higher cable rates implemented in mid-November and showing up in cable bills this month in its Southwest Ohio service area.

Regional spokesman Mike Pedelty said Monday he couldn’t estimate the average amount of the increases, or range of price increases, because they vary across 400 communities where Time Warner has cable franchises. The increases include basic and expanded tier services and installation in some cases.

But Pedelty said the majority of Time Warner cable customers won’t immediately see increases in their rates because they have signed up for bundles of services, which lock in rates for specified periods of a year or more. Those rates are fixed until the promotional period expires, he said.

At the same time, Insight Communications, which has about 85,000 customers in Northern Kentucky, will implement rate hikes starting Jan. 1. Like Time Warner, the Insight cable increases don’t affect rates of customers in the midst of promotional rate deals.

Jason Keller, Insight spokesman, said the increases don’t include the company’s basic service of 27 channels. “The cost of basic service isn’t increasing and hasn’t increased in several years,” he said.

But cable customers with higher service levels, either the 72-channel Classic tier or 300-plus channel digital tier, will see a $3 a month increase. Customers who bundle one of those services with either Internet or digital phone service will see a $5 monthly increase and customers who bundle all three services will see a $6 monthly increase, he said.

“Over the past year, Insight has invested heavily in making our service better and more reliable. In fact, we’ve launched new HD channels, thousands of new On Demand options and a more reliable home phone service,” he said. “At the same time, many of the most popular television stations have dramatically increased their programming costs.”

Pali Research analyst Richard Greenfield says there’s “a high likelihood that programming will get dropped (or) pulled,” if News Corp. and Time Warner don’t resolve their dispute this week.

If that happens, Fox would lose revenue from advertisers, because ads would reach fewer viewers. And Time Warner Cable might see some customers switch to another service.

To avoid all that, U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., urged the companies last week to get an arbitrator to help.

First published HERE by lezgetreal.com. By Bridgette P. LaVictoire.

FOX stations across the part of the country which is serviced by Time Warner Cable could go dark shortly as negotiations between News Corp and Time Warner drag towards the end of the year in an increasingly acrimonious manner. The negotiations center on what fees the FOX affiliates get for rebroadcasting on cable networks. According to most sources, New Corp wants one dollar per subscriber. Most networks get either twenty-five or fifty cents per subscriber. It should not come as a surprise as News Corp has been suffering major losses as newspapers across the country bleed readership. Networks are also having major problems as viewers turn to the internet in order to find their favorite programs and DVR becomes more common. Advertising revenue is becoming less and less, and reality TV shows are showing signs of having run their course.

As the negotiations hurtle towards the 31 December mark, the dispute could end up testing just how important the internet has become with regards to networks.

Negotiations could end up effecting Fuel, Speed TV, FOX Reality, Fox Soccer, FOX Sports World Espanol and Sports South, but it is unclear if it will effect FOX News and FOX Financial. While negotiations are not suppose to effect them at all, the acrimonious nature of the negotiations could result in FOX News being removed from the air throughout much of the South and anywhere else that FOX stations are aired. Indeed, sources are saying that Time Warner is ready to pull all News Corp stations except the local affiliate if negotiations fail.

Time Warner has been airing ads in a PR campaign designed to woo its subscribers to its point of view without having ever mentioned News Corp itself. News Corp finally outed itself as being in negotiations with Time Warner over fees.

Rupert Murdoch, head of News Corp, has been in the news lately over his attempts to put an end to Google’s redistribution of news stories and discussing putting together fees for online readership. It has been a real sticking point for a lot of people with Murdoch believing that he would be blazing a trail that others would follow. Currently, the majority of News Corp revenue is coming from the entertainment division- 20th Century Fox- and FOX News Corp.
Time Warner Cable was spun off of Time Warner Corporation earlier this year and is the largest cable provider in the nation.

First published HERE by the Associated Press. By Deborah Yao.

Comcast Corp. has agreed to pay up to $16 million to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing the cable TV operator of delaying transfers of large movie and music files despite promises of unfettered Internet access.
Comcast, which is the nation’s largest Internet service provider, did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement, but said it wanted “to put this matter behind us.”
The company said it no longer engages in the network-management practices in question.
Comcast has argued the techniques were necessary so that the few people who download large amounts of files through BitTorrent and similar file-sharing programs won’t slow down the Internet for others. The company believes its practices were appropriate, clearly disclosed and in the best interest of its customers.
But the Federal Communications Commission ordered Comcast last year to change the way it manages its Internet traffic, following an investigation by The Associated Press.
Delays in peer-to-peer traffic could affect a variety of high-volume content, from someone pirating music over the Internet to independent movie producers who want to distribute their work using BitTorrent.
U.S. District Judge Legrome D. Davis in Philadelphia gave the settlement preliminary approval last week, with a hearing for final approval scheduled for June. The preliminary approval gives time for affected Comcast subscribers to submit claims for the settlement.
The lawsuit consolidates seven similar cases filed around the country.
The lead attorney in the case, Mark Todzo, said the settlement should serve as a warning to other service providers who share Comcast’s complaints that a small number of subscribers generate vast amounts of traffic through their avid use of file-sharing programs.
“It tells (other ISPs) they can’t engage in this behavior,” Todzo said. “The writing is on the wall.”

First published HERE by dailyfinance.com on December 23rd. By Sam Gustin.

Time Warner Cable (TWC) customers reading metro New York newspapers this week may have received a shock when they saw a full-page ad from Fox Television warning: “Attention! Starting January 1st, Time Warner Cable may stop carrying Fox 5…” That would mean no NFL football, no American Idol, no 24, and in the cruelest threat, no Simpsons.

The ads are part of an escalating battle between Time Warner Cable and Fox over cable fees, and if the dispute isn’t resolved soon, Time Warner Cable subscribers could be looking at a massive lump of coal in their stocking this holiday season. The stakes have gotten so high that former presidential candidate John Kerry this week sent a letter to the two companies urging them to reach a deal before the end of the year.

Time Warner Cable is the nation’s second largest cable company after Comcast, and serves 14.6 million customers (including this writer) in 28 states.

Kerry Weighs In

“Fox and Time Warner need to strike a deal – millions of football fans are depending on it,” wrote Kerry, the Democratic Senator from Massachusetts. “Having screens go dark because two parties couldn’t come together in time is no solution. New Year’s Day and football are synonymous in households across the nation. Private industry negotiations cannot disrupt a fundamental American tradition.”

For nearly a year, the two companies have been battling over cable fees. In short, Fox wants more money from Time Warner Cable to carry its channels. Time Warner has resisted, leading to the current showdown. Now both companies have taken the fight directly to Time Warner Cable customers.

In a statement last Friday, Fox, along with its parent company News Corp. (NWS), defended its demands.

“For the past nine months, Fox has attempted to negotiate in good faith with Time Warner Cable,” Fox and News Corp. said. “Our position in these negotiations is entirely reasonable — we are simply asking for fair compensation for the impressive value our Fox programming offers.”

In response, Time Warner Cable sent a letter to its subscribers saying that Fox’s demand would entail a 300% increase in the fees that Time Warner Cable pays Fox for the right to broadcast its channels. “We know prices keep going up. We’ve had to announce a few price increases of our own and we know no one’s ever happy about that. But up to 300%? That’s going too far,” Time Warner Cable wrote.

Battling Websites

As the battle has escalated, both sides have taken to the Web, launching dueling websites advancing their respective positions. Time Warner’s site is called “Roll Over or Get Tough,” and features the following headline: “You Can’t Get a 300% Raise. Why Should a TV Network?”

In response, Fox has launched its own website, “Keep Fox On,” which features an ominous clock counting down the “days to save your programming.” (The counter stood at nine on Wednesday.)

“The compensation being sought for the Fox stations is entirely reasonable,” Fox says on the site. “According to SNL Kagan, the equitable rate Fox is proposing for all its networks is in the same ballpark as what Time Warner pays for ONE cable network, ESPN. . . . The bottom line is that the Fox stations feature some of the nation’s most-watched programming with shows such as “24,” “American Idol,” “House,” “Glee,” and “The Simpsons,” as well as the most compelling sports on television with the National Football League, Major League Baseball, and NASCAR.”

“Going forward, we will continue actively negotiating with Time Warner Cable in hopes of reaching a fair agreement and will attempt to keep our viewers informed of the situation every step of the way,” Fox concluded.

Time Warner Cable customers had better hope the two companies come to an agreement before New Year’s Eve, or else the companies cable subscribers better get ready for a lot less football in January.

First published HERE by wausaudailyherald.com on December 21st. By Nathaniel Shuda.

As a result of a statewide audit report released in early December, legislators are introducing a bill they hope will regulate the cable television industry and lower increasing monthly rates.

Since deregulation of the industry in 2007, basic cable rates have increased more than 20 percent in communities with competition, according to the 18-page Legislative Audit Bureau report.

“Rates are rising, and customers in communities with cable competition actually paid more than customer(s) with no competition,” said Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, who co-authored the legislation with Rep. Gary Hebl, D-Sun Prairie.

“Cable companies should compete against one another, but they
also should play by the rules.”

While a Vinehout spokesman said Friday the bill had been circulated for co-sponsorship, he did not know which other legislators have endorsed the proposal. A call to Hebl’s office was not returned for this story.

Many central Wisconsin residents can choose from at least two cable companies — Charter Communications and Wisconsin Rapids-based Solarus, formerly known as Wood County Telephone Co.

In July 2007, Charter charged $11.99 for its basic cable package, which provided 16 channels, compared with Solarus’ $16.99 charge for the same number of channels, according to the report. In July 2009, Charter customers paid $14.99 for 41 channels, while those who chose Solarus paid $17.99 for an 18-channel lineup.

For the extended packages, Charter’s rates increased from $38.99 for 79 channels in 2007 to $40.99 for 100 channels in 2009, according to the report. Prices also went up at Solarus from $46.99 for 94 channels to $54.99 for a 96-channel lineup.

However, in the report, state auditor Janice Mueller cautioned Vinehout, also the co-chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, that the increases could be, in part, the result of an increase in channel offerings and various “bundling” packages that combine cable TV, Internet and phone services at cheaper rates.

The bill would change oversight of the industry from the Department of Financial Institutions to the Public Service Commission and require video providers to reapply with the agency for a franchise permit every five years.

“They need to respond to customer complaints and deliver promised services,” Vinehout said. “They should live up to their commitment to our communities and public access stations.”

First published HERE by Statesman.com on December 21st. By Brian Gaar.

Local Time Warner Cable customers could see Fox disappear from their dials if the two sides don’t negotiate a new contract soon.

The cable company’s current deal with Fox in several markets, including Austin, expires at midnight Dec. 31.

According to news reports, Fox has requested a monthly $1 per subscriber fee in exchange for allowing Time Warner to carry the network’s signals. Time Warner has so far refused.

The current contract talks affect several markets — including Austin, New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Detroit, Orlando and Tampa.

Both sides have launched ad campaigns blasting the other. Time Warner set up a Web site, rolloverorgettough.com, asking customers to “help us decide what to do.”

Fox fired back with its own site, keepfoxon.com, and a full-page ad in Sunday’s Statesman knocking Time Warner.

A News Corporation spokeswoman said the network wouldn’t comment beyond a prepared statement.

In that statement, Fox says it has attempted to negotiate “in good faith” with Time Warner for the past nine months.

“Our position in these negotiations is entirely reasonable – we are simply asking for fair compensation for the impressive value our Fox programming offers,” the statement reads.

Fox says it will continue negotiating with Time Warner “in hopes of reaching a fair agreement.”

Time Warner representatives wouldn’t return calls for comment.

On its Web site, the cable company says “some TV networks have demanded that we pay them a lot more for their programming … even up to 300 percent more than what we are currently paying. We don’t think that’s fair, especially considering the economic reality everyone is facing today.”

And while this fight could theoretically end with Fox going away, keep in mind that these spats are not unprecedented.

Local NBC affiliate KXAN was off the air for almost a month last fall after a fight with Time Warner over retransmission fees. But the two sides eventually hammered out a (confidential) compromise and life returned to normal.

First published HERE by The Desert Sun on December 20th.

Time Warner Cable’s recent announcement to force all users to cable boxes comes as no surprise.

What they don’t say is that at the end of one year, every box will bring in an additional $8.99 fee (today’s price) as well as the usual yearly cable fee hike.

How many Time Warner customers are in the Coachella Valley? That number times the $8.99 box fee amounts to a small fortune in profit for Time Warner, without doing any upgrades to the outdated Docsis 1.1 system.

All this on the backs of the customers, while paying $14.4 million salaries to Time Warner’s president, Glen Britt, this year. How is this better and fair ?

Doug Dameron
Palm Desert

First published HERE by the Los Angeles Times on December 19th. By Diane Pucin.

Programming involving most local sports teams is at risk in fee dispute.

Starting at midnight Dec. 31, Time Warner cable customers could find themselves without Lakers, Clippers, Kings, Ducks, UCLA and USC television coverage, thanks to a fee dispute that escalated Friday.

Time Warner and News Corp., which owns the Fox stable of channels, have been unable to renegotiate the carriage agreement that runs out at the end of the year.

If the impasse is not resolved, local subscribers not only would be without much of the entertainment programming on Channel 11 — including new seasons of “American Idol,” “24″ and “House” — but also Prime Ticket and FS West, home to L.A. sports teams, including the Lakers, Clippers, Dodgers and Angels.

FX, Speed, Fuel, Fox Movies, Fox Reality, Fox Soccer and Fox Español also would be gone. Fox News and the Fox-owned National Geographic channel, however, are not part of the disputed package.

Besides local sports, subscribers also would miss four NFC pro football playoff games that are scheduled for Channel 11 as well as three BCS bowl games (all but the Rose Bowl and BCS championship game) and the Cotton Bowl.

According to three sources who cannot speak publicly because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations, Fox is asking Time Warner to pay it about $1 for every subscriber. By comparison, according to one source, Sinclair Broadcast Group, which negotiates with cable systems for networks such as CBS, NBC and ABC, gets between 25 to 50 cents per subscriber.

Time Warner is the second-largest cable distributor nationwide with 14 million customers. Patricia Fregoso-Cox, Time Warner’s regional vice president in the West, said she couldn’t disclose how many Southern California subscribers there are. However, a source familiar with the number but who is not authorized to divulge such information said the number in the Los Angeles area is about 1.4 million.

Fox, in a statement released Friday, said: “For the past nine months Fox has attempted to negotiate in good faith with Time Warner Cable. . . . While negotiations are ongoing, we have a responsibility to prepare our viewers for the very likely possibility that Time Warner Cable may choose to no longer carry Fox Broadcasting, Fox Cable and Fox regional sports programming.”

Fox, meanwhile, has begun a marketing campaign to notify Time Warner subscribers about what they may lose.

Fregoso-Cox, however, said it’s a matter of fairness.

“Fox’s current demands are unreasonable and excessive,” she said. “We’re hoping that Fox won’t punish Time Warner cable customers by taking programming away while we try and reach an agreement.”

But Time Warner already doesn’t carry the NFL Network, so its viewers missed the unbeaten Indianapolis Colts win their 14th game Thursday night and will miss today’s game between the undefeated New Orleans Saints and the Dallas Cowboys.

First published HERE at KVIA.com on December 18th.

Cowboys fans with Time Warner Cable are out of luck if they want to watch Dallas play New Orleans Saturday night.

The game is only being carried on the NFL Network, a channel not offered on Time Warner Cable in El Paso or on any other Time Warner Cable service throughout the country. The NFL Network is offered on DirecTV, Dish Network, AT&T U-verse, and Verizon FiOS Internet.

Going to a sports bar or restaurant that has satellite TV is another option for fans.

The Cowboys, with a record of 8-5, are looking to upset the 13-0 Saints. The game starts at 6 p.m. MST.

The NFL Network will have a Webcast with studio analysis and live look-ins during the game that ABC-7 will carry on www.kvia.com.

This isn’t the first year Cowboys fans with Time Warner Cable subscriptions have missed out on a game being shown exclusively on the NFL Network. It’s happened the last three years.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said last spring that he would like to get a deal done with Time Warner Cable to add the NFL Network.

Maureen Huff, a spokeswoman for Time Warner Cable, told the New York Times this month the cost of carrying the channel is too expensive.

“We think it’s an excessive amount of money for eight out-of-market games,” she said in the article. All other NFL games are available on existing networks without adding the league’s channel, she said.

First published HERE at The Consumerist. By Alex Chasick.

As the Comcast/NBC mergepocalypse draws near, we wanted to remind readers of the ways that this is going to harm consumers (beyond the obvious things like 30 Rock being promised to come on between 6 and 10 pm and actually airing at 11:30). Join us for a sad look into the future.

Let’s Just Look At What Comcast/NBC Would Own
TV Stations: NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, Bravo, Chiller, CNBC World, mun2, Oxygen, Sleuth, Syfy, Universal HD, USA Network, The Weather Channel, E! Entertainment Channel, G4, Golf Channel, PBS Kids Sprout, Style, TV one, Versus, CN8, Exercise TV, FEARnet, AZN Television, a portion of MLB Network.

NBC owned and operated stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Bay Area, Dallas/Fort Worth, Washington, Miami, San Diego, Connecticut.

Telemundo owned and operated stations in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio, Las Vegas, San Francisco/San Jose, Phoenix, Fresno, Denver, Boston, Tucson, Puerto Rico.

Film: Universal Pictures, Focus Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Internet: Hulu (more on that below), iVillage, NBC.com, CNBC.com, Weather.com

That’s a lot of channels, and they’re ones that Comcast/NBC will be able to use as bargaining chips against other cable and internet providers who want to carry them. Comcast/NBC will have the incentive and means to discriminate against other channels that compete with NBC content, in favor of the NBC alternative.

For example, a recent story about the merger suggests that Comcast/NBC would challenge ESPN for sports content. Comcast’s own sports channel, Versus, would benefit from NBC’s pool of talent and production resources, but Comcast/NBC could prop Versus up in more ways. The most obvious thing Comcast could do to hurt ESPN, though unlikely, is refuse to carry the channel, thus depriving ESPN of all of Comcast’s cable subscribers. Another scenario is that whatever sports content that Comcast/NBC acquired and offered, like the Olympics, could be entirely exclusive to Comcast/NBC. That is, ESPN wouldn’t be able to run footage from Comcast/NBC events on SportsCenter. As a content and service provider, Comcast/NBC could even firewall its content, allowing only Comcast cable subscribers to see certain games or events. If Comcast/NBC decides not to block content entirely, they can still ransom it to other cable providers, charging higher prices for NBC content than NBC currently does. These expenses would of course be passed onto the subscribers.

More Mergers Will Happen, and Cable Rates Will Rise
If the Comcast/NBC merger goes through, it will lead to more media consolidation. Other service and content providers will merge in order to keep pace with Comcast/NBC, further limiting competition and increasing the possibility of collusion and price fixing, including rate increases. This was repeatedly seen in the late 1990s: after media ownership rules were relaxed, companies scrambled to buy up as many stations as they could to remain in equilibrium with each other.

Say Goodbye to Free Streaming Video
Although Hulu has already announced that it will begin charging for content, Comcast’s acquisition of NBC, which, along with ABC and Fox, owns a substantial share of Hulu, would further harm the developing streaming video market. A merged Comcast/NBC would control both content—NBC programming—and distribution, and would have strong incentive to move its content behind its own pay wall. One hypothetical scenario would see Comcast/NBC pulling NBC content from Hulu, and making streaming NBC content available only to cable subscribers. Even worse, Comcast/NBC could further restrict streaming content to customers who subscribe to cable and internet, forcing customers who enjoy watching streamed content to sign up for unnecessary bundles. And by withholding content from any other streaming video service, whether free or subscription based, Comcast/NBC would harm their chances at viability.

Blocked content, rising rates, forced bundling, and more. Despite claims from NBC and Comcast that this merger would be “pro consumer,” the end result will be more restrictions on what content consumers can access and how they can view it. And it will inevitably be more expensive. Consumer and media rights groups are urging the FCC and/or Department of Justice to either block the merger outright or impose very strict conditions to prevent the problems listed above. To read more about the proposed rules, visit FreePress’s release on the merger.