AT&T Reaches Agreement with Rainbow Media
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, July 19, 2010 · 
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AT&T U-verse announced last Thursday that it reached a new carriage deal with Rainbow Media.
Rainbow, part of Cablevision Systems, owns AMC, IFC and WE tv. The agreement with U-verse expired July 1, but was extended another 14 days for negotiations.
“We are happy to report that AMC, IFC and WE tv will remain on AT&T U-verse,” AT&T said in a statement. “We’re very satisfied that we were able to reach the fair deal we wanted for our customers – one that includes the right content, across platforms, at prices that are in line with the marketplace, and that helps us with important strategic content initiatives. We are very grateful to our customers for their support.”
Rainbow also released a statement: “We’re pleased to have reached an agreement with AT&T for AMC, WE tv, IFC and Sundance Channel that truly recognizes the value of our networks. We look forward to continuing our partnership with AT&T and are excited to continue to bring their subscribers our award-winning programming, including the new season of AMC’s Mad Men on Sunday, July 25.”
AT&T at Odds with Rainbow Media
Posted by Steve Fravel on Monday, July 12, 2010 · ·
AT&T has begun providing set-top-box delivered messages to its U-verse subscribers that may lose access to AMC, WE Tv and IFC as soon as July 14. According to reports, Rainbow Media and AT&T have not reached agreement on renewal of the Rainbow-owned channels. Rainbow Media Holdings is owned by Cablevision.
At risk is the season premiere of Mad Men on July 25. AT&T reportedly began sending messages to subscribers on July 9 letting them know that while the agreement had been extended until July 14, a resolution on a new agreement was imminent. AT&T has indicated that they wish to come to a fair agreement, but that they have reached an “impasse,” in their negotiations.
Cablevision Buys Bresnan, Expands Operations
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, June 14, 2010 · ·
Cablevision Systems Corp. has signed a deal to acquire Bresnan Communications, which is majority owned by Providence Equity Partners, in a transaction valued at $1.365 billion. Bresnan, the nation’s thirteenth largest cable provider, owns systems in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Utah that pass more than 630,000 homes and serve more than 300,000 subscribers. Bresnan operates an upgraded fiber-optic coaxial network and offers digital television, high-speed Internet and voice. Read more
Cable Companies Announce WiFi Roaming Pact
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, April 19, 2010 · ·
Cablevision Systems Corp., Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable announced an agreement to allow their high-speed Internet customers to roam across the companies’ respective WiFi networks for free in the New York metropolitan area.
The strategic move is designed to entice and retain customers with a value-added feature, while also placing pressure on its telco competitors, namely Verizon, which have the weakest WiFi offerings. The importance of WiFi as a fast and reliable way to access the Internet is becoming increasingly clear as WiFi-enabled devices continue to proliferate, most recently Apple’s iPad. Read more
Studios, Cable Companies Partner to Promote VoD
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, March 22, 2010 · ·
Eight Hollywood studios and eight cable companies have joined forces for a $30 million advertising campaign during the next three months to promote awareness of movies available on cable video on demand (VoD). This is the first time rival studios have come together to push consumers to rent more movies through their cable boxes.
The TV, print and online ad campaign will feature the theme “The Video Store Just Moved In” and will promote the ease of ordering movies at home, via the click of a remote. It also includes a dedicated Web site at CableVideoStore.com and a Movies on Demand logo. Read more
Court Upholds FCC’s Jurisdiction on Cable Programming Access
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, March 15, 2010 · ·
[ This story was updated on 3/17/10 to reflect some factual inaccuracies. We apologize for the editorial error.]
Last Friday, the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit upheld a 2007 FCC order that bans exclusive programming contracts between cable TV system operators and cable-owned networks. Read more
Cablevision and Disney Reach Tentative Agreement
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, March 8, 2010 · ·
Cablevision and the Walt Disney Co. engaged in a very public battle this past weekend over retransmission fees. The two media giants reached a tentative truce yesterday evening, just after the start of the Oscars.
Early Sunday morning, Disney pulled its ABC station from Cablevision, a hard-line tactic intended to force Cablevision to negotiate and settle the contract dispute or risk stranding its three million cable customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut without access to the Academy Awards.
The two companies finally found some common ground at 8:44 p.m. Eastern time, the same time that the signal for the local ABC station was restored to Cablevision’s customers. The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal, although people familiar with the matter said the terms were still quite tentative.
