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Comments on news posted 2014-09-02 10:39:42: Retrans season is apparently heating up, and with it the now-all-too-familiar channel outages that plague consumers when broadcasters and cable operators can't agree on price. ..

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fiosultimate
join:2014-06-09
San Antonio, TX

fiosultimate

Member

it has begun, again

Let the retransmission fees war begin , again

josephf
join:2009-04-26

josephf

Member

This is an inevitable fact of doing business

Nothing can stop this from reoccurring short of price controls with the FCC setting specific mandatory prices that the content operators receive and must accept like it or not and the cable companies must pay and carry like it or not. And that ain't gonna happen since the idea is absurd.
turnerbrewer
join:2011-11-22

1 recommendation

turnerbrewer

Member

Cut the cord, Ditch the Dish.. Whatever you gotta do.

This is one of the reasons that I cancelled pay TV years ago.
Why pay for something that is available for FREE over the air?

JimThePCGuy
Formerly known as schja01.
MVM
join:2000-04-27
Morton Grove, IL

1 recommendation

JimThePCGuy

MVM

Because AMC, Smithsonian, History aren't available over the air?
At my juncture in life it would be like cutting off my nose to spite my face.
I don't like it but there just isn't enough content OTA for me.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

telcodad

MVM

Switching providers is not the answer

I hope DirecTV and their subscribers can stick this out and not buckle into Raycom Media's rate hike demands, like they did with The Weather Channel earlier this year.

From: »directvpromise.com/local ··· happens/
quote:
Negotiations
DIRECTV pays programmers fees to carry their networks or local stations. When contracts come to an end, we negotiate new agreements, and the vast majority of the time you never hear about them. But sometimes programmers demand an increase that’s two, three, and even 10 times more what they’ve ever received before – and all for the exact same channels. We believe it’s our responsibility to take a stand and protect you from these excessive price increases so you don’t see an unnecessary increase to your family’s monthly bill.
:
By sticking up for average families and holding firm during disputes, DIRECTV has been able to keep its annual price increases to half the industry average. DIRECTV has your back and wants you to enjoy any ABC, CBS, FOX or NBC show you want – and at a reasonable price. Just imagine your family’s bill if we simply accepted an arbitrary fee demand for one local station, let alone the 1,580 with whom we partner. Your patience has a direct impact on your bill, and so while every dispute is often resolved quite quickly, we appreciate your support as we fight by your side.
:
Switching Is Never the Answer
None of the major TV providers is immune from local stations that feel entitled to shut off their most loyal viewers or manipulate the flow of your favorite shows. Even the highest ranking broadcast officials were forced to admit to Congress that these blackouts are unfair to the average family and so pressure continues to mount in Congress and the FCC to force self-destructive local stations to stop. In the past year, more than 850 mom-and-pop, single community cable operators joined DIRECTV – their largest competitor – to help bring an end to local stations treating customers like their personal ATM machines.
Hopefully, many of DirecTV's subscribers can pull in the missing local stations' OTA signals with an antenna while this dispute is going on.
percosan
join:2002-03-13
San Francisco, CA

1 recommendation

percosan

Member

I tire of this ...

If broadcasters want conduct their business using a public resource for free, how can they keep a straight face when DTV (or anyone else) wants to limit or eliminate retransmission fees?

Make them pay for using public spectrum.

jseymour
join:2009-12-11
Waterford, MI

jseymour

Member

Government Interference Created This Mess

First the federal government said subscription TV sellers "must carry" local broadcast content. Then they turned around and said local broadcasters could charge retransmission fees.

Once again the federal government, by messing with things, has created a mess.

Here's a thought: Federal government: Keep your hands off! Roll back the retransmission fee and must carry decisions and let the market sort itself out.

Jim

ybgrsfd
join:2013-08-21
united state

ybgrsfd

Member

Oh well

We lost our local FOX station which we are in a habit of having their morning news on in the mornings while getting ready for the weather and traffic and what not (while they go to commercial every 5 mins!). Well this morning we just found ourselves over at the local ABC station. Wasn't that big of a change. Raycom better cave quick or they may find that when they do come back our habits have already changed.

atuarre
Here come the drums
Premium Member
join:2004-02-14
EC/SETX SWLA

atuarre

Premium Member

Who cares?

We have two local stations here, one is an NBC affiliate and one is a Fox affiliate (They also carry the CW). I hate both. The NBC stations local gm gets on to "Speak his mind" about things going on in/around the community and national state, and it annoys the hell out of me. I guess he thinks he is bringing some value to the station but he really is not.

The Fox station does not even broadcast in hd.

I can live without channel seven on my directv

RadioDoc

join:2000-05-11
La Grange, IL

RadioDoc to percosan

to percosan

Re: I tire of this ...

Broadcasters already pay...yearly..to use "public spectrum". Try again.
RadioDoc

RadioDoc to jseymour

to jseymour

Re: Government Interference Created This Mess

That assumes there is a "free market" (an oxymoron) in the first place. Look at your cable bill and tell me who is getting the bulk of the content fees. You can't because the pay TV industry won't tell you.

Hint: They have a mouse as a mascot.

Broadcasters aren't the problem.
RadioDoc

RadioDoc

"We will always work to protect our customers"

If that were true, they'd tell ESPN and Fox Sports (and all the other sports networks) to go pound sand.
gaforces (banned)
United We Stand, Divided We Fall
join:2002-04-07
Santa Cruz, CA

gaforces (banned) to atuarre

Member

to atuarre

Re: Who cares?

The local NBC station manager here calls it "Voicing the concerns of the Community" and it's annoying GOP and Evangelical Christian spin and Agenda. They are owned by the Hearst Corporation.

anoc
@71.193.187.x

anoc

Anon

Same issue brewing over in Dish land

Heartland Media running a crawl warning of channels being pulled/dropped from dish if new agreement is not reached.

»www.kezi.com/qanda/

DaveDude
No Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey

DaveDude

Member

attenna as well

I have an antenna , so i can watch philly and nyc channels. Direct should just build their dishes to have local channel reception . Direct should just tell them they dont want to re-trans. Direct should be asking them for money. Netflix has that problem with cable providers.

firephoto
Truth and reality matters
Premium Member
join:2003-03-18
Brewster, WA

firephoto to RadioDoc

Premium Member

to RadioDoc

Re: I tire of this ...

said by RadioDoc:

Broadcasters already pay...yearly..to use "public spectrum". Try again.

How much? In US dollars of course..
ISurfTooMuch
join:2007-04-23
Tuscaloosa, AL

ISurfTooMuch to RadioDoc

Member

to RadioDoc

Re: "We will always work to protect our customers"

Indeed! Don't need them, don't want them. Now we're getting the SEC Network, another ESPN channel, crammed down our throats. Oh joy.

Let the sports fans pay their own way.

ctaranto
join:2011-12-14
MA

ctaranto to JimThePCGuy

Member

to JimThePCGuy

Re: Cut the cord, Ditch the Dish.. Whatever you gotta do.

But after 3 weeks of watch those channels, you've basically seen everything they have to offer. Oh, and Netflix/Amazon Prime for the stuff that's relevant.

We've been snipped for about a year. One of the best financial decisions we've made.

HD Antenna -> SD Homerun HD -> Win 7 MC -> Ceton Echos

RadioDoc

join:2000-05-11
La Grange, IL

RadioDoc to firephoto

to firephoto

Re: I tire of this ...

TV (47 CFR part 73) VHF Commercial	
Markets 1-10 86,075
Markets 11-25 78,975
Markets 26-50 42,775
Markets 51-100 22,475
Remaining Markets 6,250
Construction Permits 6,250
TV (47 CFR part 73) UHF Commercial
Markets 1-10 38,000
Markets 11-25 35,050
Markets 26-50 23,550
Markets 51-100 13,700
Remaining Markets 3,675
Construction Permits 3,675


»www.fcc.gov/document/ass ··· ear-2014
Pittpharm
join:2013-12-26
Pittsburg, TX

1 recommendation

Pittpharm

Member

Majority Siding with DTV

I am the lucky one to be in the rural market which Raycom covers. However with having social media it is interesting to see how opinions are on who is at fault. For example if you go to KLTV or KSLA Facebook pages when they posted the plug was pulled, the majority of comments as of last night are Raycom quite being the playground bully and sign the F*n contract. Its not worth switching providers and signing new contracts for a dispute that might end in the next 2 hours. With then being in a contract that might have the same dispute in 4 months. Only hope the majority(like us) still have some sort of antenna if they want to watch primetime "reruns" live or a decent internet connection to watch the local news stations stream the newscasts (which all Raycom stations do now) aka Chromecast to TV for those who do not have the antenna.

PlusOne
@78.129.148.x

1 recommendation

PlusOne to jseymour

Anon

to jseymour

Re: Government Interference Created This Mess

said by jseymour:

First the federal government said subscription TV sellers "must carry" local broadcast content. Then they turned around and said local broadcasters could charge retransmission fees.

Once again the federal government, by messing with things, has created a mess.

Here's a thought: Federal government: Keep your hands off! Roll back the retransmission fee and must carry decisions and let the market sort itself out.

Jim

The FCC should do something productive for a change and reverse themselves and pass a regulation saying that OTA stations must provide their signal FOR FREE and not be able to charge retransmission fees.

firephoto
Truth and reality matters
Premium Member
join:2003-03-18
Brewster, WA

firephoto to RadioDoc

Premium Member

to RadioDoc

Re: I tire of this ...

Thanks. It's obviously really cheap. Without knowing populations in the different market categories it's probably many times less than $1 per viewer.

Add into this revenue from advertising and other things and it really makes these channel hostage situations seem pretty pathetic and desperate.

FailOverflow
join:2011-02-23
united state

FailOverflow to ISurfTooMuch

Member

to ISurfTooMuch

Re: "We will always work to protect our customers"

I'm fine with that. I'd love to pay for a sports only package. Then I'll never have to deal with all the Terrorist Propaganda Machines(CNN, FauxNews, MSNBC. etc.), Religious Bullshit, Shopping Channels, Reality TV Networks. That should cut my bill by 2/3 since I no longer have to subsidize all that junk.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536 to RadioDoc

Premium Member

to RadioDoc
or put them in their own tier
dvd536

dvd536 to Pittpharm

Premium Member

to Pittpharm

Re: Majority Siding with DTV

how much is the chromecast service per month?

RadioDoc

join:2000-05-11
La Grange, IL

RadioDoc to firephoto

to firephoto

Re: I tire of this ...

That is what each TV station pays the government every year just to be on the air, before paying for anything else. A company like Raycom is paying somewhere around $2 million total based on an average of midsize markets. Keep in mind that in return for being licensed OTA each television station has regulatory public interest burdens not faced by cable or DBS, and that is the "deal" between them and the public.

DirecTV and Dish, who also didn't pay for their spectrum and have no public interest obligations, pay less in regulatory fees than one medium sized television group:
quote:
Space Stations (per operational station in geostationary orbit) (47 CFR part 25) also includes DBS Service (per operational station): 139,100
In 2013 that total was $2,052,450 for Dish and DirecTV combined.

Broadcast Television stations paid $23,346,475.

Now, who is sponging off the "people's airwaves" again?

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

3 recommendations

tshirt to turnerbrewer

Premium Member

to turnerbrewer

Re: Cut the cord, Ditch the Dish.. Whatever you gotta do.

said by turnerbrewer:

for FREE over the air?

Free OTA some places, unfortunately not to mine.

RadioDoc

join:2000-05-11
La Grange, IL

RadioDoc to dvd536

to dvd536

Re: Majority Siding with DTV

Chromecast is a thing, not a service:

»www.amazon.com/Google-Ch ··· romecast
turnerbrewer
join:2011-11-22

turnerbrewer to JimThePCGuy

Member

to JimThePCGuy

Re: Cut the cord, Ditch the Dish.. Whatever you gotta do.

If you can stream video then -
Smithsonian App = Available on Apple TV
History App = Available on Apple TV or purchase shows from ITunes or Amazon.
AMC = Purchase from Itunes or Amazon.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

telcodad to dvd536

MVM

to dvd536

Re: "We will always work to protect our customers"

said by RadioDoc:

If that were true, they'd tell ESPN and Fox Sports (and all the other sports networks) to go pound sand.

said by ISurfTooMuch:

Indeed! Don't need them, don't want them. Now we're getting the SEC Network, another ESPN channel, crammed down our throats. Oh joy.

Let the sports fans pay their own way.

said by dvd536:

or put them in their own tier

ESPN won't let the TV providers put it in a special sports tier, or even on a higher-level tier, as they want the most subscriber access to it, so they can charge their advertisers more.

That's why it's normally found on a lower-level tier like "Expanded Basic" or "Digital Starter," etc.

See this article on the sports channels situation:

The Sports Cable Bubble
How much consumers pay for sports on tv - even those who don't watch them
By Patrick Hruby, Sports on Earth - July 12, 2013
»www.sportsonearth.com/ar ··· tch-them
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