Suddenlink, Viacom Negotiations Reach Impasse

[mvcg66b3r]

After five months of what appears to have been fairly contentious negotiations, Suddenlink Communications has come to an inevitable conclusion: It really, really doesn’t want its MTV. And neither do its customers.

See more at: http://www.multichannel.com/news/news-articles/suddenlink-viacom-negotiations-reach-impasse/384319

 

[anotherguyTN]

Every one of these disputes between station or network owners and cable or satellite systems are this way. They’re like spoiled brats on both sides.

 

[nathannah]

I wish Viacom would get humbled after getting booted off a major system like they did with DirecTV. How anyone can justify still paying for SIX cable channels which air music videos on autoloop and TeenNick, a channel which might as well be the living personification of someone who gave up, I don't understand. And except for Comedy Central who has wide autonomy from their corporate overlords, the rest of their networks have the worst programming and scheduling departments in the entire industry.

Of course though, they'll capitulate because the entire Suddenlink Facebook page has become whining from the usual bevy of customers who need to realize the TV world isn't just Dora and Spongebob marathons. And now that Viacom pulled streaming of their shows from Suddenlink customers, it's worse. And not helping was one of the channel replacements was BET with The Blaze; justifiably someone called them out for not giving anyone warning that an African-American channel would be replaced with Glenn Beck.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

I wish Viacom would get humbled after getting booted off a major system like they did with DirecTV. How anyone can justify still paying for SIX cable channels which air music videos on autoloop and TeenNick, a channel which might as well be the living personification of someone who gave up, I don't understand. And except for Comedy Central who has wide autonomy from their corporate overlords, the rest of their networks have the worst programming and scheduling departments in the entire industry.

Of course though, they'll capitulate because the entire Suddenlink Facebook page has become whining from the usual bevy of customers who need to realize the TV world isn't just Dora and Spongebob marathons. And now that Viacom pulled streaming of their shows from Suddenlink customers, it's worse. And not helping was one of the channel replacements was BET with The Blaze; justifiably someone called them out for not giving anyone warning that an African-American channel would be replaced with Glenn Beck.

given that Suddenlink is mostly in small Red state markets, they probably don't have a lot of black customers to begin with

 

[nomadcowatbk]

How long before one side gives in? Cableone still hasn't given in

 

[anotherguyTN]

I didn't know there was an ongoing dispute with Cable One, which is in Dyersburg, TN, and Viacom. My mother had it but she is in a nursing home now that has a limited lineup of DirecTV. My brother has kept Cable One at her house and uses it, but he hasn't mentioned that anything was off. That probably shows that he really doesn't care that the Viacom channels were dropped.

Perhaps an answer to getting these long term disputes between cable systems and channel owners would be for cities that make the contracts with cable systems switching to other systems and start having clauses that long term disputes can be grounds for cancellation of their deals.

 

[nathannah]

Perhaps an answer to getting these long term disputes between cable systems and channel owners would be for cities that make the contracts with cable systems switching to other systems and start having clauses that long term disputes can be grounds for cancellation of their deals.

That's how it was done in the old days. Sadly, when Verizon and AT&T introduced their systems to the market, they did it by having statehouses pass boilerplate bills which pretty much took away all municipal authority from cable system contracts except for the physical right-of-way for running lines so they wouldn't have to run into multiple municipal/cableco buzzsaws to install their service. In most states these days, all the disputes go into the gaping maw that is the state department of consumer protection, where it's a low priority (in Wisconsin the consumer protection department is with the agriculture department, for instance).