One of my readers asked me last night why I referred in my recent columns and articles in the Courier & Press and on my site (Jake's DTV Blog) to Dish's refusal to carry Fox44, when he felt it was a dispute. Here is my response, and it's based on my examination of the situation ... by extension, I think 99.9% of this can probably be applied to the Ft. Wayne situation as well:
At this point, I would -- and do -- still refer to this situation as a refusal by Dish to carry the station, because they won't pay what Fox and the station owner (ComCorp) feel the programming is worth. Don't let the "350%" throw you off ... that seems to be a standard line that Dish is throwing out there in this instance, as well as in Fort Wayne and Springfield, Mo., where Fox has changed (or soon will be changing) its affiliation.
It's important to note that neither side will give a specific dollar figure (and that's not unusual), but even if it is a 350% increase, past history indicates to me that the amount in question is still well under $1 per subscriber, per month. Most cable networks get much more than that (ESPN, for example, is said to be in the $4/subscriber/month range), so it's not a bank-breaker for Dish, even though they'd like us to think that it is.
Besides, if companies like Insight, NewWave and others can (and have) come to terms with Fox44 with their smaller subscriber bases, to me, there's no reason Dish should be given preferential treatment. At some point, I feel confident that a compromise deal will be reached and you'll get Fox44, but what timeframe that occurs within is unclear. The most recent dispute Dish went through (with LIN Media, which owns the CBS affiliates in Terre Haute, Indy, Lafayette and Fort Wayne) lasted two weeks. If this one lasts longer than that, I'll be surprised.
Fox is, depending upon the metric one measures it by, either the #1 or #2 broadcast net in the country. With the sports programming it airs and shows like "Idol" and others, I can understand why the network and its affiliates believe it's worth more money. Do I like seeing situations like what we're now seeing in Evansville and Ft. Wayne? No, but under the law as it now exists (which set up the monster we know as retransmission consent), this is the new normal.
