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The Programming Disputes Thread

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...-you-can-win-tv-retransmission-wars/98864460/

An editorial of the Dish/ Hearst KCCI Dispute by the Des Moines Register. The Author suggested using an antenna and get OTA signals to go around the contract Dispute. But for some viewers who have newer TV's its get rid of your cable subscription and get your shows internet/Wifi signals only and watch local news on App or website to go around the contract dispute too for now.

Once again a signal provider and a broadcast group are at odds in their retransmission agreement negotiations. As a result, in the case of the Des Moines area, Hearst Broadcast Group’s station KCCI-TV has been removed from Dish.

I was in the broadcast TV business for years and have negotiated hundreds of “retrans deals.” They aren’t fun. It’s high stakes poker with a lot at risk. You try and get the best deal for your station and avoid the last resort: being taken off of a system. That’s a lose-lose proposition for your viewers and your advertisers. So, when a station is pulled off of a system, I usually empathize with the broadcasters.

The last figures I saw the average household in the United States pays over $6 per month for ESPN — much more than what I estimate you are paying for KCCI-TV. You’re paying that even though, according to the Nielsen and Rentrak Rating Services, the average household watches a lot more of their local TV stations than they do ESPN. And what you are watching is not cheap to provide. Producing local news is a huge expense, not to mention the cost for rights to syndicated shows, local sports and the fees paid back to their respective networks. Content is king and it costs a lot to provide good content.

But, I must admit, I am always a little bewildered by how mad some viewers get when a TV station is taken off of a delivery system. That doesn’t mean I don’t sympathize with the viewers. I get it that the subscriber feels caught in the middle — a pawn being penalized while the greedy corporations battle it out. I have heard the wrath of viewers complaining, "It's you, the TV station’s fault, that I can’t watch my favorite program." Regardless of the circumstances of why they can’t get your station it doesn’t matter; they’re mad. You have violated one of the basic rights of U.S. citizenship: to be able to watch a local TV station. “How dare you take away my KCCI-TV!?”

Nonetheless, the reason I don’t fully understand the reaction of those upset viewers is: We’re talking about free-over-the-air broadcast television. From the day broadcast TV was first introduced in the 1940s it was delivered to the home free over the air. No cables, no satellites. All you needed was an antenna, and that hasn’t changed.

So, if you’re one of those upset viewers do yourself a favor: Buy an antenna and you’ll never again be at the mercy of the station groups and the delivery systems to watch your local stations. Not to mention, there are several side benefits to having an antenna.

First of all, the quality of the picture coming into your home off an antenna is better than that of either cable or satellite. Those delivery systems have to compress the broadcast signal in order to deliver it to your home, which is not the case with an antenna. The antenna picture comes into your home in crystal clear HD with no compression.

I live 25 miles from the TV tower farm in Alleman, where all of the local broadcast TV stations' towers are located. We subscribe to Dish and have an antenna in our attic. When we watch a local broadcaster, we switch to antenna because the quality of the picture is superior to the one that comes off Dish. And, that antenna brings in every station — from the signal challenged WOI-TV to KCWI-TV. The only station I can’t get is Ion.
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http://www.fiercecable.com/broadcas...rks-for-live-tv-service-but-viacom-may-be-out

A+E Networks have a deal with Hulu but have a contract issue with Viacom.

or Viacom, being excluded from Hulu’s live TV service comes as another blow when programmers and broadcasters are all jockeying for distribution in the growing market of virtual MVPDs.

Last month, YouTube announced its upcoming YouTube TV service, and many core cable networks and programmers were excluded, including Viacom. YouTube TV signed deals with all of the major broadcasters and brought on many of those companies’ regional sports networks and affiliated cable networks including ABC’s Disney channels, ABC's ESPN, CBS’s Showtime, Fox’s FX, Fox's National Geographic and NBCUniversal’s USA Network.

Programmers like Time Warner, A+E Networks, Viacom, Scripps, and Discovery did not show up among the channels included in YouTube TV.

Interestingly, TiVo firm Digitalsmith’s latest research on pay TV services showed that A&E and History are both in the top ten for channels that U.S. consumers would most want to pay for on an a la carte basis. For Viacom, only Comedy Central showed up in the top 20.
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http://www.wbaltv.com/article/an-open-letter-to-dish-subscribers/9128167

Update this time WBAL responds to the blackout issue with Dish

As we, Hearst Television, parent of WBAL-TV, continue to work towards a resolution of our impasse with DISH Network, I want to share with you our appreciation for your patience. We understand that you are frustrated that this impasse has taken so long to resolve—so are we. As a television viewer, nothing is more frustrating than missing your favorite station’s programming, such as WBAL-TV’s local news and weather. Unfortunately, if you’re a DISH subscriber, you’ve probably become accustomed to this phenomenon. Over the past several years, DISH has been the most egregious abuser of pay-TV disputes within the industry. While the length of these disputes has varied, in numerous instances DISH has had outages that have lasted several months. Unfortunately, to date DISH’s lack of engagement and unwillingness to present a fair proposal suggest that DISH intends to employ their age-old strategy of a long-term impasse.

In recent months, Hearst Television has successfully completed a number of distribution agreements with other pay-TV providers. We have consistently sought to negotiate a deal that reflects the current marketplace, as represented by those deals. In response, DISH has simply engaged in doublespeak. On the one hand DISH has publicly stated that they’re willing to accept other deals that Hearst Television has successfully concluded; yet, at the same time, DISH continues to offer us terms, including rates, that are so obviously below the marketplace that they could not be viewed as a genuine proposal by any objective participant.

DISH has suggested that Hearst Television has been unwilling to negotiate. This is simply untrue. As we have said to DISH all along, we remain ready and willing to conclude a deal promptly. In contrast, DISH has said that they’re available day and night to reach an agreement, and yet they’ve refused to modify their completely off-market terms in any meaningful way. Given the foregoing and DISH’s extensive history of outages, we suspect they will employ any scheme that serves to delay meaningful discussions. While Hearst Television can’t force DISH to negotiate, we can assure you that we remain committed to reaching a fair deal, and we will work each and every day to make that happen.

Again, we apologize for the inconvenience this impasse has caused and look forward to providing you the very best in national and local programming as soon as possible.
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http://www.adweek.com/tvspy/retrans-blackouts-affecting-ncaa-tournament-watchers/187306

March Madness may not be seen in some areas because of a contract Dispute and its the Raycom stations at play here and of course WLKY and KCCI CBS Affiliates owned by Hearst Television and their dispute with Dish.


Sports fans hoping to watch the NCAA tournament in certain markets may have trouble updating their brackets.

Raycom is blacked out on AT&T U-Verse over retrans fees, affecting six CBS affiliates, while Hearst, which has two CBS affiliates affected (WLKY in Louisville, Kentucky and KCCI in DesMoines), is blacked out on DISH Network.

Raycom points its corporate finger directly at DirecTV, saying its the fifth time service by AT&T U-Verse has been pulled since its merger with DirecTV in July 2015. Raycom says before the merger, it had no signal disruptions during retransmission negotiations.

CBS affiliates started airing the first and second rounds of the tournament today.

“We never want our communities to experience a disruption,” said Pat LaPlatney, Raycom Media President and CEO. “These retransmission consent agreements are important free-market negotiations that sustain broadcast localism. It is unfortunate that AT&T U-Verse appears to be involving their customers in their broader business strategy.”
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A State Senator’s Fight For Local TV Brings WFSB Back To Optimum

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After eight weeks, Optimum subscribers in Connecticut regained access to their local CBS affiliate, WFSB-3 in Hartford, Friday afternoon. The end of a bitter impasse came after a state senator sought to bring Meredith and Optimum parent Altice USA together to resolve their differences. In this RBR + TVBR INFOCUS report, we talked exclusively to this legislator right at the moment she excitedly learned of the battle's end.

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Update on the hearst/dish dispute


http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/102415/hearst-launches-shot-clock-on-dish-talks




In what it describes as an effort to advance negotiations with Dish Network and return programming to Dish subscribers in its 26 television markets, Hearst Television has begun radio and newspaper campaigns in select markets — with plans to roll out radio advertising in additional markets — and has launched a “countdown clock” on its stations’ websites to track the expanding duration of its impasse with Dish.

The effort follows an open letter to Dish subscribers circulated via the Hearst station websites on March 14.


“We are engaging in multiple efforts to keep our viewers informed and educated about this process,” said Jordan Wertlieb, Hearst Television president.

“As for Dish’s repeated and false claims of financial offers, Dish is clearly misguiding its customers,” Wertlieb added. “As is customary for companies seeking to protect disclosure of their confidential information to competitors, we cannot disclose the terms of our DirecTV deal to Dish. The question is, why is Dish not offering to Hearst what Dish has surely agreed to pay to other broadcasters?

“Lastly, we have never left the negotiating table,” Wertlieb emphasized. “We remain, as always, ready to continue serious negotiations.”

Earlier in the day, Dish released this statement: “Hearst blacked out millions of DirecTV customers in January, and eventually the two sides reached an agreement. Before Hearst blacked out Dish customers two weeks ago, we said that we would agree to the same terms as DirecTV. That offer remains on the table. Hearst should do the right thing for consumers by agreeing to the same terms as its deal with DirecTV and restoring its stations to the Dish lineup today. Dish is committed to reaching a fair agreement with Hearst to end this blackout.”
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RBR-TVBR Buzz Stream said:
slossberg_gayle-150x120.jpg
After eight weeks, Optimum subscribers in Connecticut regained access to their local CBS affiliate, WFSB-3 in Hartford, Friday afternoon. The end of a bitter impasse came after a state senator sought to bring Meredith and Optimum parent Altice USA together to resolve their differences. In this RBR + TVBR INFOCUS report, we talked exclusively to this legislator right at the moment she excitedly learned of the battle's end.

More...
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http://www.fiercecable.com/cable/altice-finally-ends-2-month-blackout-connecticut-s-wfsb-3

Update WFSB and Optimum ends the contract dispute.
 
https://tvanswerman.com/2017/03/22/dish-vs-hearst-day-19/

Now congress is getting involved in the Dish/Hearst Dispute. Anna Eshoo is now getting involved in the fight.

A California congresswoman (Rep. Anna Eshoo) late last week urged the companies to reach a deal, but of course, that’s what politicians do in these fights: Call for a solution without doing anything to prevent the fights in the first place such as reforming the retransmission law that enables local stations to pull their signals if their demands are not met.

I will continue to monitor this dispute and will report back here if anything significant changes.

Meanwhile, on day 19 of the fee fight, 33 Hearst-owned local stations are still in the dark on Dish.
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http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/102544/raycom-blasts-att-over-continued-blackout

Update in the Raycom AT&T Dispute

Raycom Blasts AT&T Over Continued Blackout
The broadcaster says the MVPD “appears to be using programming disruptions as an opportunity to switch AT&T U-Verse customers to its DirecTV service. When disgruntled AT&T U- Verse subscribers call to lodge a complaint, they are offered a subscription with DirecTV, the very same company as AT&T. In some instances, subscribers are also pushed to DirecTV NOW, a service that in many markets does not carry any local broadcast affiliates: a zero-sum game for subscribers.”
By Mark K. Miller
TVNewsCheck, March 22, 2017 1:21 PM EDT
Raycom Media stations in 23 markets went dark on AT&T U-Verse systems at 11:59 p.m. ET on March 15. With no new agreement forthcoming, Raycom today issued a new statement targeted at AT&T.

“This disruption of service with Raycom Media represents the fifth time that AT&T U-Verse has had a disruption of service with broadcasters since their merger with DirecTV. Prior to the AT&T merger with DirecTV, AT&T U-Verse had no signal disruptions during retransmission negotiations.


“AT&T U-Verse, now combined with DirecTV, appears to be using programming disruptions as an opportunity to switch AT&T U-Verse customers to its DirecTV service. When disgruntled AT&T U- Verse subscribers call to lodge a complaint, they are offered a subscription with DirecTV, the very same company as AT&T. In some instances, subscribers are also pushed to DirecTV NOW, a service that in many markets does not carry any local broadcast affiliates: a zero-sum game for subscribers.”

Pat LaPlatney, Raycom Media president-CEO, said: “Maintaining our connection to our local communities is always the goal in our negotiations. Raycom Media offered three extensions through this negotiation process in an effort to continue our negotiations without affecting our viewers on the AT&T U-Verse system. “In the last three years, Raycom Media has successfully negotiated retransmission consent agreements with 99.5% of operators without an interruption in service. It’s difficult to negotiate an agreement if that is not part of the AT&T U-Verse business plan.”
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RadioPatrol said:
http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/102544/raycom-blasts-att-over-continued-blackout

Update in the Raycom AT&T Dispute
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http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/102348/uverse-raycom-fail-to-renew-retrans-pact

The Contract dispute affects the U-Verse division of AT&T and Raycom owned stations.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/entertainment/tv/media-scene-blog/article140141348.html

AT&T is trying to lobby Raycom to air the UNC Game on WBTV

With no visible progress in contract negotiations, AT&T U-verse urged Raycom Media to lift its blackout for Friday night’s Tar Heel basketball game.

As key NCAA Men’s Tournament games drew close, both sides blamed the other Wednesday in the blackout of CBS affiliate WBTV (Channel 3) on AT&T U-verse in the Charlotte area.

In a letter to WBTV general manager Scott Dempsey on Wednesday, Linda Burakoff, AT&T’s vice president of programming, said that the station should persuade its parent company to allow the cable system to carry the UNC game.

“We believe there is no public interest served by WBTV and Alabama-based Raycom continuing this deliberate blackout – inconveniencing our Charlotte subscribers and disrupting the hard-working proprietors of local restaurants and North Carolina sports bars that televise March Madness,” Burakoff said.

In Charlotte, U-verse customers face a blackout of the CBS game scheduled to be carried on WBTV at 7:09 p.m. Thursday between No. 3-seed Oregon and No. 7-seed Michigan.

But it is the 7:09 p.m. Friday game – between the No. 1-seed UNC Tar Heels, the last surviving ACC team in the tournament, and No. 4-seed Butler Bulldogs that has the most fan base locally.

It is the first time in the tournament UNC has been the CBS game – earlier appearances were on Turner stations not affected by the U-verse-Raycom dispute.
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http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/raycom-blames-att-u-verse-week-old-blackout/164325

1 Week Later Raycom has issued a corporate rant on AT&T over this dispute
“AT&T U-Verse, now combined with DirecTV, appears to be using programming disruptions as an opportunity to switch AT&T U-Verse customers to its DirecTV service,” Raycom said in a statement. “When disgruntled AT&T U-Verse subscribers call to lodge a complaint, they are offered a subscription with DirecTV, the very same company as AT&T. In some instances, subscribers are also pushed to DirecTV Now, a service that in many markets does not carry any local broadcast affiliates.”

Representatives of AT&T U-verse, which dropped Raycom stations when the parties failed to reach a carriage deal, were not immediately available for comment.
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At least WWSB won't be affected, because U-Verse is not in Manatee or Sarasota countries.

Also, I know the FCC can't do anything about disputes as a dispute is happening, but is there anything the FCC can do to prevent or reduce more disputes from happening in the future? In other words, what caused all these disputes to happen in the first place?
 
http://cordcuttersnews.com/watch-fox-shows-now-leaving-netflix/

http://www.polygon.com/2017/3/22/15023026/netflix-leaving-shows-april-buffy-arrested-development


Update Netflix is cutting primetime shows that Fox has distribution contracts to off the Netflix app. Part of this is to make way for new shows and movies for Netflix and part of this is to end the contract with Fox. Yes part of it is that Fox is part owner of Netflix's competitor Hulu that's the other reason for Netflix to cut the contract off from Fox.


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If you add a DVR to your antenna you can quickly build up a large catalog of 100% free Fox shows.
Can’t get Fox over the air?
If you cannot get Fox for free over the air we have good news for you. Fox is streamed for free on services such as Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, and DIRECTV NOW. Not sure if they offer it in your area? Visit their sites to see if you can find out if they have Fox in your area. Not only will you get a live feed of Fox in many areas, all of these services offer on-demand access to many Fox shows.
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