ABC-Cablevision Dispute Deadline Nears

[Melanie]

Deadline Looms in Cablevision-ABC Feud

Oscars broadcast imperiled for 3.1 million customers in NY cable dispute

New York (AP) - Cablevision's 3.1 million customers in New York could lose access to the Academy Awards on Sunday if ABC's parent company follows through on a threat to pull the plug at midnight Saturday in a dispute over payments.

The Walt Disney Co. is seeking an additional $40 million a year in new fees, according to Cablevision Systems Corp. spokesman Charles Schueler. He said the company currently pays more than $200 million a year to Disney.

Disney said 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.

[Scar]

The situation will get resolved (although maybe not by midnight,) Disney will get more money, and the customers will pay higher rates.

I may be moving in the next year and I have pretty much decided I will not be getting cable (or any other service) when I do. I'm sick of cable and TV in general. I can get the main channels for free and I have a decent VCR and DVD collection. Good enough for me.

[JPL]

ABC is officially dark on Cablevision!

[Carol]

Yep - it's gone.

Thankfully we have DirecTv on our primary set. Out of all the networks - I watch ABC the least. Cablevision is in our Den and Bedrooms. I will be looking for a price adjustment though. That's for sure.

[lettripp]

SO happy we switched. We had Cabelvision and got frustrated with a) The scripps issue and b) the internet connection was much slower than they advertised. Not sure what I'd do without ABC...

[Plex]

I had Cablevision for about a year and I am totally not surprised by any of this. I had problems with them from day 1. No matter how many times you tell them no, they'll keep coming back with a better deal. When I first got my service I would get a phone call every few weeks begging me to upgrade. Now that I've dropped them they sent a salesman to my front door to try to win me back, continuously insisting on coming inside my house.

If they treat their customers like this, I can't imagine what their corporate negotiations are like. They're selling cable and internet service, not used cars!

We've got AT&T U-Verse now - better in every way.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Not like Cablevision subscribers are losing good programming.. ABC stinks.. Now if they just remove their other terrible programming, TV will start to be cleansed.. NBC, you're next!!

[thumperbug]

Yes, ABC is dark in NY at the moment. The only show I watch on ABC I can catch for free on the web and I watch the soaps at night on soap net anyway. Went through same thing with food network and HGTV and it got resolved. It all comes down to money.

Does anyone besides me remember a time with no cable and you had 3 networks to watch and maybe 1 public TV station? The first time we had cable was when I was about round 1978 -79?? I also remeber the box had a long cord and the box had a row of buttons on it. lol

There is always books to read, games to play and Disney DVDs to watch.

[Carol]

I had Cablevision for about a year and I am totally not surprised by any of this.

Really? I've never had a single problem and we've had Cablevision forever. I keep it because they offer Optimum Voice and Optimum Online. Very satisfied with both.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Really? I've never had a single problem and we've had Cablevision forever. I keep it because they offer Optimum Voice and Optimum Online. Very satisfied with both.

I never had an issue with Cablevision either...

This issue, however, is all Disney's fault and their corporate greed... Not Cable

[Tinkerfreak]

I miss my cable just for the high speed internet. We built a house and moved and can't get cable out here. We have to have satelite internet and while it is way faster than dial-up it is alot slower than cable internet. DH and I joke about how if we had known we couldn't get cable here we would not have built here. I don't mind the satelite tv us much as I thought I would but would pay almost anything to get my high speed internet back.

[PirateLover]

Both sides are wrong for different reasons, and the sad thing is the consumer is the one who suffers. Snark all you want about ABC's content but there are plenty of viewers who will be missing out on their favorite programs, and the Academy Awards tonight. Who knows how long this will last.
Everyone does not have access to internet to watch a show that they had to miss because of this standoff.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Well, that lasted all of what, 20 hours???? ABC is back on the air....

[PirateLover]

Well, that lasted all of what, 20 hours???? ABC is back on the air....

That is still 20 hours too long. Glad it is back on.

[1DisneyNut]

I don't see where disney has any rights to payment for abc network from cablevision. ABC is broadcasting it for free over the air in digital which viewers can get with a cheap antenna. There is no reason anyone should have missed anything on ABC if they really wanted to see it. Cablevision incurs cost by using their bandwidth to put ABC on their cable system for the convenience of their customers and in turn disney/abc gets those additional viewers that otherwise would not have watched and therefore are getting paid by getting better ratings to sell advertising at a higher price. If I were cablevision or any cable provider for that matter I would tell them they were not getting anything.

[GothMickey]

Both sides are wrong for different reasons, and the sad thing is the consumer is the one who suffers. Snark all you want about ABC's content but there are plenty of viewers who will be missing out on their favorite programs, and the Academy Awards tonight. Who knows how long this will last.
Everyone does not have access to internet to watch a show that they had to miss because of this standoff.

I politely disagree. How is Cablievision wrong? Just because ABC's programming is terrible, and sponsors aren;t advertising as much there anymore, and they are losing money like crazy at ABC, doesn't mean Cablevision subscribers should be held hostage by, once again, poor Disney management.

[GothMickey]

That is still 20 hours too long. Glad it is back on.

Wasn't long enough. Cablevision shouldn't have buckled just to get ABC in television. Remember, ABC is FREE television. Disney was trying to hold Cablevision subscribers hostage.

[GothMickey]

I don't see where disney has any rights to payment for abc network from cablevision. ABC is broadcasting it for free over the air in digital which viewers can get with a cheap antenna. There is no reason anyone should have missed anything on ABC if they really wanted to see it. Cablevision incurs cost by using their bandwidth to put ABC on their cable system for the convenience of their customers and in turn disney/abc gets those additional viewers that otherwise would not have watched and therefore are getting paid by getting better ratings to sell advertising at a higher price. If I were cablevision or any cable provider for that matter I would tell them they were not getting anything.

Quoted for truth. Disneynut, I agree with you 100%. ABC had a lot of nerve and absolutely no right demanding an extra $40 million just to air FREE programming. I wish Cablevision told Disney to take it or leave it. Then, when Disney left it, we'd see their corporate sponsors flee.

[princessgirls]

I'm one of the 'lucky" Cablevision customers, and while I never miss an opportunity to throw them under the bus, I don't believe this is situation with ABC is entirely their fault.

Thankfully they did resolve it. I have no options where I live. We had the dish for a while, and it went out a lot, and I still need Cablevision for internet and phone.

Verizon is not available in my neighborhood (shocking but true...a verizon executive lives around the corner) and has no plans to be available for at least the next year or two.
Cablevision is it. I'm stuck!!!
Ughhh.....
Julie

[PirateLover]

Well from what I read (And I could be misinterpreting) Cablevision is charging it's customers trumped up fares for programming that is provided for free. Yes they have to use their bandwith but they must be charging more than other cable companies because Disney isn't picking fights with anyone else. That is where they are wrong. Disney is wrong however to seek extra profits from this. Either way as I stated the customer loses.