Time Warner Cable subscribers throughout the east coast could find themselves without access to the major broadcast networks come Jan. 1. According to an Associated Press report, Sinclair Broadcast Group is asking that the cable provider — which is no longer affiliated with Time Warner, EW’s parent company — pay a larger amount for the right to carry signals from 33 of its stations in 21 markets, including affiliates of all four networks. If the two conglomerates cannot resolve the dispute by January 1, those stations could go dark — although News Corp., which owns the Fox network, has already said that it will provide programming for Time Warner subscribers if local affiliates do get pulled from the airwaves. (In October, Cablevision customers in the New York area suddenly found their TV sets Fox-free after the cable company and the network failed to close a new carriage deal.) Time Warner Cable has said that it is still prepared to negotiate; according to Sinclair, the cable giant has not submitted a counteroffer since rejecting Sinclair’s last proposal.
Dec 29
2010
05:14 PM ET
Time Warner Cable contract dispute may rob subscribers of broadcast networks
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Boy, here we go again. Maybe Time Warner should consider giving a price cut for all there subscribers if a cut in service happens again. This happened awhile ago, and nothing was really done about it.
My time warner service is already crappy enough, but seriously, come on time warner!
I’m sick of this stuff. I would switch from Time Warner but as soon as I do then Direct TV or Dish Network will be going through the same thing. There should be better access to the channels that you want.
I agree, I’m sick of hearing about this. In your own area, it’s the network, then it’s the station, then it’s cable – something is always being negotiated and about to be pulled, and if it isn’t your area, it is in some other part of the country. It’s exhausting and maddening having to listen to it all the time.
It would great if it was Fox News was the channel lost!! Those viewers would be forced to watch factual news shows!
What? Like MSNBC? Why go from the #4 cable network to #28? I guess according to you all those people are stupid. Why don’t all you Fox haters just shut up and go back down into mommy’s basement.
Actually I would agrue that Fox and MSNBC are just as bad. News doesn’t exist anymore, not in a meaningful way. It’s all opinion now. Which leads to opininated yet uneducated voters. Not a great combination for the future of the country.
Go Verizon FIOS!
Too bad that they aren’t nationwide yet. I would drop time warner faster then they could pick up the phone.
yargh!!! a torrent pirate be we, if our shows aren’t broadcast INSTANT – LY!
(ironically on TWC broadband)
ugh it seems it wouldnt be a new year without a new contract dispute with Time Warner. Seriously, the only reason why I’m a member is because my building wont allow anything else (that and I’m a slave for NY1)
Here we go again…I still can’t believe the FOX in NY cablevision blackout for almost TWO WEEKS this past fall.
If the networks decides to pull their channels because the cable/dish systems won’t pay them what they want, their only hurting themselves. I’ll watch something else!
agreed
Why does this always seem to happen on the east coast? Cable providers out here in the west don’t ever seem to have problems like this.
It happens all over. We’ve had the same problems with TWC here in Texas. Seems like every 6 months or so TWC is fighting with another provider.
Every cable company has to go through the same thing every year. The Channel’s solution is to raise the customer’s cost.
FOX News cares about its’ viewers. The station wants to make sure that people have access to unbiased news reporting.
No, but what we have in the west is greedy cable companies (Charter) who keep adding “new” tiers to their pricing. So you have a channel on the tier that you pay for, and they suddenly move it to a higher, more expensive tier. Charter has done this several times with TVland, IFC, etc, too many to count. Always a higher cost for the customer!
This is not Time Warner’s fault. Sinclair has been pulling this on every cable operator in the past year. Greed on behalf of Sinclair, not Time Warner. The broadcast airwaves were meant to be free, not for Americans to have pay for it.
Pez, why are you willing to pay Time Warner for broadcast channels that you can get free over the air? Why should cable companies make money charging customers for those over-the-air channels without paying those stations something?