Networks are no longer satisfied “with just positioning their product (via cable TV),” he said. “Now they want cash compensation.”
Pali Research analyst Rich Greenfield said viewers are likely to see more cable stand-offs in coming months as TV advertising revenue continues to slump.
The trend began last year when TV stations began looking to bump up their consent fees from cable providers. In the Dayton area, Time Warner viewers lost ABC Channel 2 for nearly a month in October 2008 when negotiations bogged down.
If Fox and Time Warner fail to reach an agreement by midnight New Year’s Eve, cable viewers here risk losing the following channels — FX, Fuel, Speed, Fox Reality, Fox Soccer and Fox Sports en Espanol.
Major Fox stations, however, will not be affected here and will continue on Time Warner, including Fox 45, Fox News, Fox Business and Fox football broadcasting, said Time Warner regional spokesman Michael Pedelty. Agreements to retransmit those broadcasts were made separately with local stations, he said.
Time Warner and Fox have both launched ad campaigns appealing to viewers for their support.
“We’re still hopeful we can get a deal,” Pedelty said. “Our customers have told us overwhelmingly that they want us to get tough” in negotiations with Fox.
Time Warner has run advertisements claiming Fox has threatened “to pull the plug on Time Warner Cable customers” as of midnight on New Year’s Eve unless its demands for a 300 percent increase in programming prices are met.
The ad says more than 600,000 customers have visited Time Warner’s RollOverOrGetTough.com Web site and urged the cable company to “stand up to Fox to hold down the cost of cable TV.”
Fox has launched its own campaign of print advertising and TV spots with a call-in number (1-866-KEEP-FOX) and a Web site, www.keepfoxon.com.
In a statement released Monday, Fox said its negotiating position is “entirely reasonable — we are simply asking for fair compensation for the impressive value our Fox programming offers.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2437 or jdebrosse@CoxOhio.com.
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