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Wheeler not happy with Time Warner Cable over SportsNet LA
- Thread starter Radio Spider
- Start date
T
Thomps2525
Guest
I was surprised to see an editorial in the Los Angeles Times insisting that the dispute be settled by Time Warner and the other tv providers and not by the FCC or the courts. I agree, though. Time Warner shelled out $8.36 billion for the rights to a new Dodgers channel without first finding out if AT&T, Cox, Charter, Dish and DirecTV would be willing to pay to carry the channel. To recoup their investment, Time Warner wants the other providers to force all their subscribers to pay at least $4 a month, and that fee will increase dramatically over the next few years. Time Warner refuses to let the Dodgers channel be paid for by only the people who want it. Time Warner suggested arbitration. What a great public relations move, eh? I'm glad that the other providers are not giving in. I could easily foresee a day when every major sports team has its own channel...and we'd be paying $300 a month to get them all.
Exactly what authority does the FCC have to intervene in this sort of dispute?
T
Thomps2525
Guest
The FCC is pretty much powerless to intervene in business issues such as the Time Warner-DirecTV dispute. But Time Warner asking the FCC to intervene will make DirecTV appear to be the bad guy and Time Warner appear to be the good guy. At least that's the theory...but I don't think Dodgers fans are fooled. We all blame Time Warner and the Dodgers for the unaffordable and unsustainable SportsNet LA channel.
Artie Minson, Time Warner's chief financial officer, is now assuming that no other tv providers will carry SportsNet LA this season. Based on second-quarter results, Time Warner's projected revenue growth for 2014 was recently lowered from 4.5% to 3.5%. The unit that operates SportsNet LA has seen a 56% increase in operating costs and a 26% drop in revenue. The company added 70,000 broadband subscribers, most of whom probably signed up in order to see the Dodgers...but Time Warner lost 152,000 video subscribers. Hey, Time Warner, see what happens when you spend billions of dollars to create a new channel without first making sure that the other tv providers will carry it?
Artie Minson, Time Warner's chief financial officer, is now assuming that no other tv providers will carry SportsNet LA this season. Based on second-quarter results, Time Warner's projected revenue growth for 2014 was recently lowered from 4.5% to 3.5%. The unit that operates SportsNet LA has seen a 56% increase in operating costs and a 26% drop in revenue. The company added 70,000 broadband subscribers, most of whom probably signed up in order to see the Dodgers...but Time Warner lost 152,000 video subscribers. Hey, Time Warner, see what happens when you spend billions of dollars to create a new channel without first making sure that the other tv providers will carry it?
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