Big Cable Operators See 500,000+ Cord Cutters
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, November 8, 2010 · 
·
Subscribers are cutting the pay-TV cord in record numbers. Adding up cable TV losses from four of the five biggest cable operators brings the quarterly cord cutter total to more than half a million subscribers.
The carnage began last week when Comcast announced that it had lost 275,000 basic cable subscribers. No. 2 cable provider Time Warner Cable followed suit, announcing that it has lost 155,000 cable subscribers during the third quarter, which included 46,000 digital video subs. Charter Communications reported that it lost 63,800 basic cable subscribers during the previous quarter, and Cablevision announced that it lost 24,500 subscribers during the same period, including about 5,000 digital video subscribers. Read more
Fox, DISH, Cablevision: All Done for Now?
Posted by Steve Fravel on Monday, November 1, 2010 · ·
It seems the big news on retransmission after the “scary” weekend is that both Dish Network and Cablevision came to terms with Fox on retransmission and other content fee issues.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) offers up some congratulations to all for getting it settled, while pointing out that there is work that needs to be done to protect the consumer. Read more
Fox vs. Cablevision
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, October 18, 2010 · (1) ·
Cablevision and Fox parent News Corp. are engaged in a very public and heated retransmission consent battle. Negotiators failed to reach an agreement yesterday evening, more than a day after their current deal expired. As a result, Fox has pulled its channels and programming while the two sides discuss how much Cablevision will pay to carry them. Talks are expected to resume this morning.
The FCC posted a consumer advisory on its website last night. The advisory reads, in part: “Cablevision and Fox had an agreement for Cablevision to carry WNYW, WWOR, and WTXF that expired at 11:59 pm EDT on October 15, 2010. They have been negotiating to renew that agreement, but failed to reach a new agreement before the deadline. As a result, Cablevision stopped carrying WNYW, WWOR, and WTXF. This dispute affects only Cablevision subscribers who wish to view programming on WNYW, WWOR, and WTXF. “
The commission notes, however, that Cablevision has also lost the signals for Fox cable networks including Fox Business, Fox Deportes and Nat Geo Wild. Read more
AT&T Reaches Agreement with Rainbow Media
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, July 19, 2010 · ·
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