ABC off Cablevision

[mark1447]

ABC ya later!

 

The alphabet network yanked its signal from Cablevision early this morning after the two companies remained deadlocked in a nasty dispute over fees.

 

More than 3 million subscribers in tri-state area may miss tonight’s Oscars broadcast — one of the year’s most-watched programs.

 

"Cablevision has betrayed you again," read a message that scrolled across the screen two minutes before midnight, as the hit show "Lost" was being broadcast.

 

"First you lost HGTV and Food Network and now you’ve lost ABC-7," it continued, referring to a dispute earlier this year that kept the popular cable channels off Cablevision for about three weeks.

 

"Enough is enough!"

 

Then, at 12:01 a.m., WABC/Channel 7 went blank on Cablevision, leaving customers fuming.

 

"I don’t know what to say," said Plainview, LI, resident Stu Wolff.

 

"I can’t watch the Oscars, it’s the biggest show of the year and I’ll have to drive to Queens to watch it at my father’s," Wolff, 44, added.

 

Cablevision countered in a statement that WABC, which is owned by Disney, was being greedy and holding its viewers "hostage."

 

"It is now painfully clear that Disney CEO Bob Iger will hold his own viewers hostage in order to extract $40 million in new fees from Cablevision," said the company’s spokesman Charles Schueler.

 

"We are working hard to get ABC back on the air," a screen message from the cable provider said at around 12:20 a.m.

 

Negotiations were continuing early this morning and the ABC signal could return to Cablevision at any time. WABC can still be viewed with an antenna and a new TV or digital converter box, but most cable subscribers don’t have such a box.

 

Later, Cablevision tried to console viewers by advising them to "watch ABC programming at hulu.com or abc.com."

 

At issue is Disney’s request to collect $40 million in fees to broadcast ABC’s signal, which it had given to the cable provider for free. Schueler said Cablevision already paid $200 million a year to Disney for its programming.

 

The two sides have been negotiating for two years since their last contract expired and extended their deal month by month as long as talks continued.

 

But a spokeswoman for Disney said the cable giant, owned by Knicks and Rangers mogul James Dolan, earned almost $8 billion last year and doesn’t pass along the money it received from charging customers $18 a month for basic broadcast signals.

 

Viewers, however, weren’t interested in those details, only that they might be missing the Oscars and their favorite shows.

 

"The consumer is the one getting screwed," said Jim Medler, 43, of Bronxville, NY.

 

 

 

SOURCE: NY POST

March 7, 2010

_______________________________________________________

Yahoo News:

 

3.1M customers face Oscar night without broadcast

 

Millions of cable subscribers faced the prospect of Oscar night without the Academy Awards broadcast Sunday after ABC's parent company switched off its signal to Cablevision customers and the two companies blasted each other for failing to reach a deal in a dispute over fees.

 

In dueling statements dispatched early Sunday, the two companies traded blame for the stalemate ahead of one of the most-watched nights of television.

 

"Cablevision has once again betrayed its subscribers," said Charissa Gilmore, a spokeswoman for the Walt Disney Co. and ABC Television Group, in a statement. "Cablevision pocketed almost $8 billion last year, and now customers aren't getting what they pay for ... again."

 

Cablevision Systems Corp. said the stall in negotiations should be blamed on Disney CEO Bob Iger. "It is now painfully clear to millions of New York area households that Disney CEO Bob Iger will hold his own ABC viewers hostage in order to extract $40 million in new fees from Cablevision," said Charles Schueler, a Cablevision executive vice president, in a statement.

 

The signal can still be pulled from the air for free with an antenna and a new TV or digital converter box.

 

Cablevision has argued that Disney is seeking an additional $40 million a year in new fees, even though the company pays more than $200 million a year to Disney.

 

Disney counters by arguing that Cablevision charges customers $18 per month for basic broadcast signals but does not pass on any payment for ABC to Disney.

 

The dispute is similar to a standoff at the end of last year between News Corp. and Time Warner Cable over how much Fox television station signals were worth. That tussle, which threatened the college football bowl season and new episodes of "The Simpsons," was resolved without a signal interruption.

 

Cablevision also feuded with Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. in a January dispute that temporarily forced the Food Network and HGTV off the service. Neither side provided terms of an agreement that restored the channels after three weeks.

 

Disney and Cablevision have been airing dueling advertisements about the ongoing dispute for the past week. Also, lawmakers in Washington have chimed in, suggesting the Federal Communications Commission step in.

 

The company's previous contract with Cablevision expired more than two years ago, but it was extended month by month as talks continued.

 

Under previous arrangements, Disney was paid for cable channels such as ESPN and Disney Channel, but gave its ABC broadcast signal away for free, a situation that most broadcasters are now trying to change.

 

"We can no longer sit back and allow Cablevision to use our shows for free while they continue to charge their customers for them," WABC-TV president and general manager Rebecca Campbell said in a statement.

 

Schueler suggested that disgruntled viewers should blame Disney's top executive if the station goes dark.

 

"There is one man who is going to decide whether New York gets to see the Oscars, and that's Disney President and CEO Bob Iger," he said in a statement late Friday. "We call on Bob Iger to stop holding his own viewers hostage, end his threats to pull the plug on ABC at midnight and instead work with us to reach a fair agreement."

 

WABC-TV is the most-watched TV station in the country, said Disney, which is based in Burbank, Calif.

[Dan05979]

Damn thats f*uckd up that that happend, its always a money dispute and the comsumer who pays these rediculus cable rates has to suffer.

 

I'm not affected because I'm with Time Warner, but I feel I pay alot of money for the 1 cable box and hbo service I get. I don't even get phone or web with that and my bill is over 100 beans.

[LRG]

This sucks. I was going to check out the Oscars but nooooo, ABC wanted to act like a-holes and pull a FREE channel off the air. What kind of stupidness is that?

[Far Rock Depot]

Cant really blame ABC entirely. Cablevision charges for showing a free channel. part of the contractual deals like this include the cable company paying local broadcast stations a share of the revenue. Yes, Cablevision pays Disney (ABC's parent company) its share, but the beef is basically the little extra they are suppose to pay WABC-NY. I see it as a ploy to eventually raise cable subscribers rates blaming the local station. ABC TV this morning has been telling veiwers alternate ways to veiw and not just going to HULU. You cant watch Eyewitness news on Hulu. Im glad that i not only have time warner, but a converter box as well.

[Urbanfortitude]

Verizon Fios ftw...

[Dan05979]

verizon's picture is awsome on a plasma. but they don't have certain channels that T.W has. Like ny1 news..ect

[LRG]

verizon's picture is awsome on a plasma. but they don't have certain channels that T.W has. Like ny1 news..ect

 

Meh...NY1 is overrated IMO. But any reason as to why NY1 is Cablevision and Time Warner-exclusive?

[Dan05979]

Meh...NY1 is overrated IMO. But any reason as to why NY1 is Cablevision and Time Warner-exclusive?

 

ask Ted Turner. I use Ny1 to get my tempature when I'm getting to get out the door. But evertime I tune to the channel its always a commercial lol.

[Shortline Bus]

Damn thats f*uckd up that that happend, its always a money dispute and the comsumer who pays these rediculus cable rates has to suffer.

 

I'm not affected because I'm with Time Warner, but I feel I pay alot of money for the 1 cable box and hbo service I get. I don't even get phone or web with that and my bill is over 100 beans.

 

Dan buddy move upstate to snow country lol. Seriously why not call TWC to get a package where i get basic digital cable, phone and high speed internet all for about 100 'beans' (actually $110 after taxes):eek:

[Shortline Bus]

Cant really blame ABC entirely. Cablevision charges for showing a free channel. part of the contractual deals like this include the cable company paying local broadcast stations a share of the revenue. Yes, Cablevision pays Disney (ABC's parent company) its share, but the beef is basically the little extra they are suppose to pay WABC-NY. I see it as a ploy to eventually raise cable subscribers rates blaming the local station. ABC TV this morning has been telling veiwers alternate ways to veiw and not just going to HULU. You cant watch Eyewitness news on Hulu. Im glad that i not only have time warner, but a converter box as well.

 

Perfectly said Far Rock. Plus for years, Cablevision seems to be only major cable company involved in this crap all the time with tv stations both 'free' and on cable:(. I put 90% of the blame on the Dolans but the Disney company is partially at fault too. This business dispute has even gotten national news attention since it occuring on the one of the world's most popular tv events/specials every year the Oscars. Disney just shot itself in the foot, as this years Oscars with stiff competation was expected to be the highest rated/most watched in years.

 

About 7-8 years ago, when i still lived in Brooklyn and still living w/ my parents, (yes the good ol'e days lol)the Dolans did the same crap to then new "Yes" network and their feud w/ George Michael Steinbrenner III.

The Dolans were ticked off when their attempt to buy the Yanks around 1999/2000 failed and it was publicly this 'same song and dance' publicly the real suckers were baseball fans.

 

As result in i think 2002 or 2003(someone can correct me) Cablevision blocked the Yes network from showing any games until about July that year.

 

I lived in apartment buliding that only allowed the Dolans service until 2004. After that i will never be a Cablevision customer ever again.:mad::tup:

[LRG]

Perfectly said Far Rock. Plus for years, Cablevision seems to be only major cable company involved in this crap all the time with tv stations both 'free' and on cable:(. I put 90% of the blame on the Dolans but the Disney company is partially at fault too. This business dispute has even gotten national news attention since it occuring on the one of the world's most popular tv events/specials every year the Oscars. Disney just shot itself in the foot, as this years Oscars with stiff competation was expected to be the highest rated/most watched in years.

 

About 7-8 years ago, when i still lived in Brooklyn and still living w/ my parents, (yes the good ol'e days lol)the Dolans did the same crap to then new "Yes" network and their feud w/ George Michael Steinbrenner III.

The Dolans were ticked off when their attempt to buy the Yanks around 1999/2000 failed and it was publicly this 'same song and dance' publicly the real suckers were baseball fans.

 

As result in i think 2002 or 2003(someone can correct me) Cablevision blocked the Yes network from showing any games until about July that year.

 

I lived in apartment buliding that only allowed the Dolans service until 2004. After that i will never be a Cablevision customer ever again.:mad::tup:

 

When I move out of my parents' house, the first thing I'm doing is becoming a Verizon FiOS customer.

[Dan05979]

Dan buddy move upstate to snow country lol. Seriously why not call TWC to get a package where i get basic digital cable, phone and high speed internet all for about 100 'beans' (actually $110 after taxes):eek:

 

My bill:

 

Dvr service $12.95

DTV value package $72.95

HBO And Pod (dunno what pod is) $14.95

Taxes and Fees

Franchise Fee $5.95

FCC Fee $.07

Public Access Fee $.43

 

$107.30

[Messino]

Good riddence to ABC Another Bull@#%t Channel

[Shortline Bus]

My bill:

 

Dvr service $12.95

DTV value package $72.95

HBO And Pod (dunno what pod is) $14.95

Taxes and Fees

Franchise Fee $5.95

FCC Fee $.07

Public Access Fee $.43

 

$107.30

 

Ok. Buddy Dan you still overpaying slightly imo. Maybe when i moved to my current apartment i was lucky TWC had the $89.00 for all '3' including 'value' package, phone and high speed internet. Also due to stiff competation in my area from both VIOS and Direct TV, TWC gave me as bonus recently, 'showtime' channel for free until December 2010, i pay about this. Granted i dont have DVR and HBO(i only use it when TWC in my area offers free monthly previews about 3-4x a year)but overall i am happy with my service.

I also got the price lock gurantee that my TWC bill wont rise until September 2010 as well.

Dan do you really HBO? Other than the boxing, the 'real sports show' and certain movies, HBO plays the same crap over and over for weeks at a time. Not telling you what to do Dan, but imo i think you should try to call TWC and see if you can get on a package that cheaper that also includes DVR and high speed internet and still only pay slightly over '100 claims' a month.

 

Off topic for second. Good news is that after several phone calls i was credited $5.00 for losing service during the blizzard of last weekend feb 26-28, 2010.:tup:

 

 

It would be nice if TWC and other cable providers had NFL network/"Sunday' ticket lol.

 

Sorry to hear about my friends in the Metro area who are cablevision customers and lost WABC-TV.:mad::tdown:

[metsfan]

Cablevision needs to be divided up.

 

- A

[Shortline Bus]

Not a bad idea Metsfan. ABC-TV was founded as result of a monoply. Right after World War 2, as television was just getting started, only CBS and NBC then had 'national stations' mainly on the radio. NBC had owned both the 'red and blue' radio and then brand new 'tv' networks. Long story short the feds forced NBC to sell one of them and thus the station now ABC-TV was born.

 

Some republicans will call this 'competation' and free enterprise but those lawmakers are also under the take from the Dolans who send tens of millions each year to campaigns around the country and thus makes little or no choice of this type of reform needed.

[<6> Pelham Exp]

im telling u cable-vision is goign to lose a lot of their customers looks like everyone going back to Verizon fios

[LRG]

[quote= Pelham Exp;240392]im telling u cable-vision is goign to lose a lot of their customers looks like everyone going back to Verizon fios

 

Or subscribe to FiOS if they haven't already.

[mark1447]

[quote= Pelham Exp;240392]im telling u cable-vision is goign to lose a lot of their customers looks like everyone going back to Verizon fios

 

Going "back"? Some may have never had Fiber optic service..

[Grand Concourse]

This sucks. I was going to check out the Oscars but nooooo, ABC wanted to act like a-holes and pull a FREE channel off the air. What kind of stupidness is that?

 

Yeah, if this year's awards were for last year's movies, I wouldn't have cared. I still flip the bird at the Oscars because of them snubbing the more popular movies [Dark Knight, Tropic Thunder, Ironman] for basically 'indy art' films that few people have seen.

Slumdog Millionare was overrated. I couldn't tolerate more than 10min of watching it.

 

Meh...NY1 is overrated IMO. But any reason as to why NY1 is Cablevision and Time Warner-exclusive?

Yeah it is overrated, but at least it does cover the local news of all 5-boroughs.

 

As it's either that or listen to the radio on 1010 Wins.

[rr4567]

Well, even though I don't watch ABC, I don't really care that CV pulled it. My HDTV has a built in tuner and I still have "rabbit ears"

 

[mark1447]

Well, even though I don't watch ABC, I don't really care that CV pulled it. My HDTV has a built in tuner and I still have "rabbit ears"

 

 

Ya nice UFO antenna

[Dan05979]

Ok. Buddy Dan you still overpaying slightly imo. Maybe when i moved to my current apartment i was lucky TWC had the $89.00 for all '3' including 'value' package, phone and high speed internet. Also due to stiff competation in my area from both VIOS and Direct TV, TWC gave me as bonus recently, 'showtime' channel for free until December 2010, i pay about this. Granted i dont have DVR and HBO(i only use it when TWC in my area offers free monthly previews about 3-4x a year)but overall i am happy with my service.

I also got the price lock gurantee that my TWC bill wont rise until September 2010 as well.

Dan do you really HBO? Other than the boxing, the 'real sports show' and certain movies, HBO plays the same crap over and over for weeks at a time. Not telling you what to do Dan, but imo i think you should try to call TWC and see if you can get on a package that cheaper that also includes DVR and high speed internet and still only pay slightly over '100 claims' a month.

 

Off topic for second. Good news is that after several phone calls i was credited $5.00 for losing service during the blizzard of last weekend feb 26-28, 2010.:tup:

 

 

It would be nice if TWC and other cable providers had NFL network/"Sunday' ticket lol.

 

Sorry to hear about my friends in the Metro area who are cablevision customers and lost WABC-TV.:mad::tdown:

 

I agree, they keep calling me for the tripple play package, here's the problem

I already have a cell with unlimited everything that i'm paying $123.00 a month with nextel, I don't need another phone its usless. 2 I get my internet thru my mother's fios package so i'm getting free internet (unfort I moved back home for the time being) I dunno I like time warner, I guess they seen me comming from afar.

[nel070]

Yeah, if this year's awards were for last year's movies, I wouldn't have cared. I still flip the bird at the Oscars because of them snubbing the more popular movies [Dark Knight, Tropic Thunder, Ironman] for basically 'indy art' films that few people have seen.

Slumdog Millionare was overrated. I couldn't tolerate more than 10min of watching it.

 

Yeah it is overrated, but at least it does cover the local news of all 5-boroughs.

 

As it's either that or listen to the radio on 1010 Wins.

 

New york 1 is overatted most of their reports are recorded and one throughout the day without live updates. The only show which is a must see on NY1 for me is Inside City Hall.

[Grand Concourse]

But I don't watch NY1 all day. I tune in like at 3pm when there's no other news going on since it's between 12pm and then 5pm. Plus I watch it if there's really nothing going on the other channels as well.