Update: The Fox vs. Time Warner Cable dispute is scheduled to end at 6PM on Jan 1st. Without a resolution, several Fox owned networks will be pulled from 15 million US homes. The networks include SPEED, FX, FSN regional sports networks and the retransmission of local Fox TV stations by the cable provider. We will add updated comments to this story post.
As the sport gets ready for the 2010 season, SPEED is set to bring back two popular TV series containing lots of NASCAR content. Unfortunately, there is a brand new bump in the road that may prove to be a big problem.
The SPEED Report is scheduled to return on Sunday, January 10th at 7PM ET. The network revamped this show in 2009 and turned it into the best motorsports hour on TV. Rotating hosts include Krista Voda, Bob Varsha and Ralph Sheheen among others. Bob Dillner is the show's NASCAR field reporter.
Entering its first full year is NASCAR Race Hub. This Monday through Thursday program was added by SPEED late in the season and airs at 7:30PM ET. Once again, SPEED rotated its own NASCAR personalities through the host position and used network analysts to provide an in-studio perspective on racing issues. The new season is scheduled to debut on Monday, January 11th.
The bump in the road mentioned earlier is set to affect SPEED on January 1st. Click here for the latest on the Time Warner Cable vs. Fox feud from Variety. At a time when many elements in television from advertising to technology are shifting rapidly, this standoff over revenue is going to have no winners.
Fox wants more money from Time Warner Cable without providing any additional services or content. The Fox position is that the current product is undervalued. Time Warner positions itself as middlemen and says any increase in payments would just be passed along to the cable subscribers. Meanwhile, TWC remains a very profitable venture.
It's easy to understand the Fox position. It is an advertiser-supported broadcast TV network. The main revenue stream comes from ads sold in shows the network produces. Meanwhile, cable TV networks like ESPN get to sell the same TV ads and also enjoy a hefty payment directly to them from companies like Time Warner Cable. The dual revenue stream of cable TV networks has not gone unnoticed.
Caught in the lurch will be Fox-owned SPEED if all the Fox Networks go dark on Time Warner Cable systems on January 1st. Time Warner serves about 15 million subscribers in over ten major markets nationwide. A shutdown would be rough for lots of viewers, but SPEED is gearing up for a major increase in NASCAR programming for the new year.
Both Fox and TWC have not put their best foot forward in the public eye. Websites, Twitter messages and email are key weapons in this corporate PR spin game. Graphics crawled on the TWC systems scare viewers by saying Fox is demanding a 300% increase in fees that will make consumer costs rise.
Meanwhile, Fox is using local TV newscasts, sports programs and its cable news network to present its own scare campaign. However, telling fans that free over-the-air telecasts on Fox like college football and the Daytona 500 will go dark is nothing short of hilarious. Perhaps, Home Depot may choose to stock up on HD home antennas. Ultimately, it's called free TV for a reason.
Cooler heads may prevail over the next week, but there is a very real possibility that January may be rough for sports fans on the Fox family of broadcast and cable networks. TDP will continue to update this post and provide another column later this week as the deadline approaches.
We welcome your comments on this topic. To add your opinion, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Comments may be moderated before being posted. Thanks for stopping by.
52 comments:
Good grief. Another Versus-like squabbling of providers and Fox and we lost when DirectTV took off Versus. I hate those scrolls scaring the viewers. I'm sure it'll be worked out in the end, but come on folks. It just makes the viewers frustrated and aggravated. When I first saw TWC I thought you were meaning The Weather Channel! Happy New Year everyone.
Hilarious is right JD
people may not know or remember it, but back in the early days of cable (late '70's) the free, over the air broadcasters fought tooth and nail to PREVENT CABLE from distributing their signals.
Not surprisingly, they transitioned to a point where they DEMANDED and WON a mandate that FORCES cable to carry local stations (MUST CARRY)
Keep in mind that FOX and their OVER THE AIR affiliates pay NO FEES to local governments in exchange for their signals entering peoples homes. CABLE, on the other hand, has had to apply to local governments for permission to string cable from street to street/house to house, and then PAY THE MUNICIPALITY FOR THE PRIVILEGE!
In this case, FOX wants a free ride on the backs of cable operators who took the risk and invested the capital to create an entertainment and information pipeline.
There was a full page FOX ad in the NY Times yesterday about the TW cable issue. The FOX argument is specious, misleading and false. Viewers can get FOX over the air anytime, as has always been the case.All one need is an antenna, just like the good old days.
If FOX wants to be paid for free tv because it really believes its product is so damn valuable, then let it stand on its own in an open, competitive market. If American Idol or the "digger enhanced" race coverage is a must-have for viewers, then the masses will drop cable service and buy an antenna/digital converter.
The fact is, broadcasters downplayed the threat of competition that cable represented from the outset (the head of NBC Sports once called ESPN a "tempest in a teapot"- good call there, huh?)
If FOX wants cable distribution for its FREE TV, I say let them pay the cable operator a per-home fee for that service. Then they can go to their advertisers and get a dollar premium for the "huge" Nielsen viewership numbers that their "highly valuable" programming generates. Right......a "Digger surcharge"......
Very similar issue has been raging between Directv and Comcast, who owns the Versus network.
Vs. has NHL games on Monday and Tuesday nights, as well as playoff games in April and May. Comcast demanded a jump in monies paid for Vs. from Directv, Directv balked, PR war raged, and to make a long story short, Directv customers have been without Vs. for months now.
IMO, TWC is playing a dangerous game with it's paying customer. With dish, fiber optic and internet content providing competiton to the traditional cable monopoly, they're really risking ****ing off folks that can go elsewhere.
I know, because as a die hard NHL fan, when my Direct contract runs out in Feb., all bets are off. NASCAR has much more following than the NHL, so...good luck, TWC, you're gonna need it!
There will be a subsequent column on the status of the VERSUS and DirecTV later this week.
Bobby,
If you would like to resubmit your comment without the cable news references, it would be welcome. You made some great points.
JD
Our local CBS affiliate has an on-going battle with MediaCom, Dish & Direct. They have demanded that those systems pay them up to 50 cents a month. After being dark for a while, the matter gets settled. I subcribe to DISH, but get my locals free with an antenna.
Bobby Dee
Bobby, that is not correct. The over the air station issue is only one piece of the pie.
The entire Jan 1st pie contains all the Fox Cable Networks that also are included in the deal.
SPEED will go dark in Charlotte on Jan 1st if Fox does not agree to the part of the pie that you reference, the over the air retransmission issue.
Fox is leveraging themselves with lies and exaggerations. TWC is lying all over the place and spinning the issues without disclosing any of its own reality.
All across the board, this is an ugly display of the reality of American business.
JD
What was all that digital conversion crap going on last year? Now some TV viewers are going to need antennas again?
The only thing I know about TV is, I turn it on and there is a picture and sound. Oh, and I pay a lot for the privilege.
Like others have said, the losers are the viewers. I predict in the future that cable will be deregulated (correct term?) just like the phone companies.
@ Anonymous 8:46 AM
I love your post. It is filled with great insights and a very good history lesson for everybody that shows the irony of this situation.
The only thing I want to point out is that not everybody can just put up an antenna and I'm not just talking about rural areas. I live in the greater Los Angeles area (much to my continuing dismay) where one suburb blends into another for miles upon miles. In fact, my apartment is almost exactly six miles due west of the track in Fontana. While I live in a city mostly served by Charter, I am surrounded on one side by TWC that is also an area not fully served by FIOS.
The problem is, ever since the switch to digital broadcasting, the signal does not travel as far as it did when it was analog. So...well, guess which two stations can no longer churn out a signal to where I live? The Fox affiliate and the MNTV affiliate also owned by Fox. Living in an apartment, there is no way for people to put up a tall enough antenna. With many of those locations also having no line of sight to a satellite or microwave service and FIOS being slower than molasses to get put in through the cities of the Inland Empire, many are stuck with TWC (or, in my case, the hideous service of Charter).
In general, these squabbles are like watching a battle between Genghis Khan and Atilla the Hun. Neither one is fighting fair and certainly not doing so with the best interests of the people in mind. Both are out for nothing but their own gain and to satisfy thier true customer base, their stockholders. Such is life in a free market system and I wouldn't want to change that. On the other hand, there must be a better way to protect the many consumers in this country that still do not have any other choices other than to give up watching television or to "steal" shows by watching them over the Web through one of the many nefarious streaming sites -- assuming that such a person is not also in one of the many areas where the cable company is their only choice for an ISP and also limits their bandwidth, thus preventing them from streaming TV programs as much as they want.
A similar ruse happened last year with TWC and Viacom (MTV, BET, TV Land, Spike, et al) that was quickly settled.
News Corp (Fox) is the largest of the cable channels in dispute. There are also disputes with Scripps (HGTV, Food, Fine Living, Great American Country), Starz, and NBC's The Weather Channel. By Friday, that could can at least ten channels from our local cable system.
The other weapon available will be local governments. Because cable companies operate their franchses with authority from local government, the local government can influence the cable operator. In 1997, after the #1 local channel was purged because it was not in the "ADR market," the mayor and council went outraegous as the lesser ranked stations, in the ADR market, cheered. After 30 months, the channel was restored. If this dispute worsens, local government can make demands to the cable operator.
I have a headache. Upset no Versus on Directv. Really love watching Dakar highlights.
These companies are going to start alienating folks. At first you get upset you can't watch something. Then you figure out life goes on without it and you lose interest. Then they bring it back on a higher tier, more money of course, where the one channel you want is bundled with a lot of crap). You don't bite and they have a disatisfied customer and no extra money from me!
Just wish they could do "ala carte" for those of us who don't want 10 billion channels!
LOL! Posted comment and went to email. Lovely messge, in the smallest print possible, from Diretv announcing price increases in January.
Isn't that special. Merry Christmas to us.
Oh when life was simple and we had 3 over the air channels to choose from...LOL!
@ WCD, ala carte cable channels probably won't happen. The cable cos say that it would cost viewers more money. Makes no sense. I'm guessing we're subsidizing them.
Why am I paying for channels I don't watch, unless I learn a foreign language?
This entire cable mess gives me a headache also.
Questions, can the local govts do anything about this? How long do the contracts usually last?
Dot @ work.
I'm in one of the 'at risk' markets, DFW.
The reality of not having Fox is close, but I can still get a ticket to the Cotton Bowl.
It is a little disheartening that I may have to get an antenna for the Daytona 500, but will do it for one race.
NASCAR needs to throw some of their muscle into getting this cleaned up. They get money from Fox to be aired, and I want to see the races in the early part of the year!
Fortunately, in our neighborhood we have choice. I exercised it and switched to Verizon FIOS. This kind of nonsense (makeing viewers hostage) will go on as long as their is a practical monopoly or duopoly in each TV market. Comcast and Rubert's orgs have the sleeziet business practices in media. NFL, Nascar, and advertisers should sue Fox for breach of contract (cutting of millions of viewers
I have not been involved in the past few years, but must-carry used to be limited to stations in the cable provider's "local" area - and if a "local" station invoked "must-carry" then it could not charge the cable provider any fee to carry its signal.
It appears to me that Time Warner, in particular, and other cable providers for years just passed increased carry charges (like EESPN) on to their subscribers (with some mark-up) without a second thought, but now cable charges have become so high and with the current economy that the cable providers suddenly have gotten religion about increasing their charges.
For years content providers (like EESPN), cable providers, and local governments ( franchise authorities) all thought that cable subscribers were a bottomless pit of funds from wnich they could all feed.
Dot
The digital conversion was for people already using antennas with the government forcing broadcasters to shut down their analog transmitters and move to new digital transmitters.
What people here are saying is if you are a Time Warner customer and you want to watch a program on the Fox OTA network you will need an antenna until the dispute is settled. If you want to watch Speed or Fox News you will need a satellite dish of some kind to get those channels.
I'm so tired of all this TV network vs. TV providers crap. Versus vs. DirecTV. NFL Network vs. cable. Sunday Ticket - DirecTV exclusive. Fox vs. Time Warner. Regional Sports Networks availability/blackouts differing on cable vs. satellite. Cable-owned channels vs. satellite companies in Congress. ENOUGH! It's no wonder more and more people are being driven to 'alternative' means of watching TV programs without paying these greedy millionaires for it.
What I learned from reading the comments was that the viewers will probably lose out in the end. I remember, also, when I was growing up we had 3 channels (ABC, CBS & NBC) and had to actually get up to change the channel. Wonder what's going to happen on Friday.
These denial of service contests between huge companies that leave the consumers out in the cold seem to be more common as alternate forms of media are becoming more popular. You can add the NFL Network and the Big Ten Network to the list. Neither of them were on the air on all cable/satellite systems when they went live due to bickering over which tier they would be offered in (a euphemism for $$$). I live in a Big Ten town and IIRC, the BTN was on for 2 years before the local cable system finally picked it up. I know that a Nascar network has been suggested here, but I would think that it would be ripe for yet another one of these head-butting contests when the business plan in Daytona conflicts with the business plan that the distributers have.
I hate Time Warner. Period.
They should stop this BS right now. Or else FOX should threaten them violently.
Count me as another one in a market affected by this (Orlando, FL via Bright House).
While I could miss out, at least I've got back-up for the race (MRN/PRN if it happens and lasts that long).
As for Speed, with the way I am, Fridays won't be as bad (what with all the excessive coverage every weekend; if you can't stand it like I do). I didn't even think 'bout losing that network 'till one of my parents mentioned it.
Another downside if this happens and lasts that long, no F1!
I live in Iowa. Mediacom is the cable provider. We are being told we will lose the CBS station as well as Fox on January 1. Our Iowa Hawkeyes play in Orange Bowl on January 5. We are being held "hostage" with this threat of not being able to see the game. I have a digital converter for an old, small analog TV so I could at least watch CBS and Fox, but I'm not aware if Speed is also affected in our situation. Haven't heard anything about this in all the pointing fingers back and forth here. We were told it is against the FCC rules to have two TV stations in the same community under the same control, yet it is happening here. I want to get enthused about the new racing season, but its hard to with all this going on. In the long and short run, the viewer is the one that pays.
Just really tired of of all the fighting between major television distributors and the networks and their channels. The prices are going up and we are getting less, Directv is losing XM and some AMC channels after December 31st possibly and this won't stop folks. The most expensive part of your bundeled TV bill for you provider is TV, the internet and phone stuff are making them rich and they (TV Networks) are trying to get theirs and the Distributors are getting theirs. If it wasn't for sports the majority of us could get their TV without Cable/Dish. I think Speed and Fox is a minor skirmish compared to what Disney/ESPN will do when their turn comes around. The customer always loses. Wait till Rupert locks up Hulu with Comcast.
@ Andrew S, thanks. This is all so confusing.
JD or anyone, can you explain in a nutshell how TV broadcasting works now? I got the gist by reading the comments but, still don't get it. All I know is that the viewers are the victims.
@ VickyD, I remember those 3 channel days too. And, my sister and I were my dad's remote control.
From my TW cable bill it appears that the power of the local franchise authority has been cut back substantially in the last few years. 5 or 6 years ago a local franchise authority could charge a franchise fee (tax) of up to 5% of cable system revenue, which ours did and TW passed through to subscribers as it was allowed to do. Now the monthly franchise fee on my TW bill is less than 1%, but now I have to pay state sales tax on the cable charges - net, net I'm paying more to the state and city than I used to pay to just the city, but the city's take is down at least 80%.
It is because of greed like that shown on the part of Time Warner that may end up putting this country's people in the poorhouse.
If only the government offered cable service and almost every channel they could possibly get, then we would never have to worry about incompetence like this.
If anyone on Time Warner's side of the dispute is reading this, shame on you. Play fair, and stop giving into greed and desire.
FOX also needs to hold up their end of this also. As if they didn't get enough advertising money or make it off of their franchises. They are throwing away a lot of money. For example, why else would they have ordered up another season of "The Cleveland Show" before the show even premiered? And only God knows how much it cost for the infamous David Hill to cap off 2009 by putting Digger in a cameo appearance alongside the more popular and established likes of the Chipmunks and the Chipettes.
FOX needs to take matters into their own hands as well.
Time Warner and FOX both need to stop this madness.
Anon at 4:05. My son's school plays in the Orange Bowl also on Jan 5th (but not Iowa) lots of changes coming up on January 1st too. I wonder if it'll be like Y2K we were all so worried about.
I have Comcast and pay a very large price for the priviledge. Antenna is not an option in my development and with Direct TV issues I really don't want to go satellite. With the mess with Direct TV/VS and and now Comcast buying NBC I'm very afraid that I will somehow be on the short end of the stick. I actually have an option for Fios but despite the caims it's not cheaper. TV should not be this complicated.
Time Wormer here is reporting that, if a settlement is not reached, we could lose SPEED and all the FOX sports related cable channels - but apparently not FOX News, FOX Business, or the FOX Network. From my experience, I am more inclined to believe FOX than TW.
once again, the corporations are going to make it hard on the consumer. I switched from Comcast to FIOS as soon as they brought it into my area because I was so annoyed at having had NO competition in the cable arena in my area for years. The feds deregulated all these things and said that "market forces" would balance pricing out, but without competition, that doesn't really work. The various cable companies just hold the consumer hostage and it is very frustrating.
So, JD, what's the real truth here? We've been getting mailings from TWC for a few months, with their silly cave in or stand your ground campaign. I can hardly believe that they want to up the charges by more than 300%, but whom can any of us believe?
Apparently, TWC is upset that a lot of Fox content can be seen via the internet from Fox's own site and on places like Hulu. I'm guessing that issue is another point of discussion. But I just cannot stand all the falsehoods permeating this issue. I just say, s*** or get off the pot, to both of them. If this stuff continues, these companies will force viewers to get their programming via other providers. I'll just turn on my Direct TV for my Fox choices.
There's an article in USA Today about this situation. They also bring Comcast into the mix, citing their purchase of NBC/Universal, which could also affect a lot of programming. Comcast has supported Fox in this issue, which isn't surprising.
Fortunately I live in an area in MI where we have choices. Charter cable/Internet, AT&T U-verse cable/Internet, Dish, DirecTV or OTA. I've used Charter and the last 6 months U-verse. Both are good, but too expensive for my budget as a retiree. My condo complex has an antenna on each of the buildings and is prewired. So due to my cable costs going up again in Feb., I'm going to switch to the OTA antenna for local channels (I get about 22 digital) and just use cable for their $19.99 basic Internet.
Unfortunately I'm not alone in cancelling my cable here in MI. Due to MI having the highest unemployment rate in the nation, the cable companies here are bleeding customers at an unbelievable rate.
So I'll watch what I can on the local stations OTA and what I can find on the Internet. Cable companies have priced themselves out of my budget.
Nrf said, "TV should not be this complicated."
Take a bow.
Didn't TWC have this SAME issue with Viacom just a year ago?
Shocker.
God bless my local cable provider which is NOT TWC.
Here in Houston we have Comcast but I haven't really paid attention to the discussions because we have DirectTV. However, we are still upset losing Versus and there's a message now on the channel front page (with nice music though) about losing NHL games broadcasts but we didn't watch them anyway. I would really be upset if I lost Fox Business and Imus In The Morning as he just came back on the air. Since we live in a 50 year old house, we do have an attenna in our attic but we wouldn't want to go back to the 60's either. When is this insanity goig to stop???
Where I live Time Warner has this great news station called NY1. I wouldn't mind giving them up if their parent company was this evil Fascist empire (which it unfortunately is).
Time Warner seriously needs to grow up or shut up. They have done many stupid things in the past, including the WMG/YouTube scandal, and of course, the conflict with Viacom. If I had one chance in this world at taking down the company, I would.
Like I said before, FOX should manage their own money better as well.
Both sides need to show up and grow up. This will not look good for either side, as well. FOX will lose viewers, and Time Warner will lose customers.
We, as the viewers, have the right to choose. Right now, this is making Dish and DirecTV look like the kings of the world.
Time Warner surrendered Warner Music Group to a consortium led by Edgar Bronfman Jnr many years ago and split off TWC from the main TWX this spring.
Local weather (it frequently rains) is the reason for canning satellite for cable, plus business reasons.
Dish is looking very well right now since they are not "in the battle" that everyone else is engaging. Echostar is looking too well right now.
And if Fox Sports Carolinas is purged it could also affect the naming rights deal TWC has with the downtown Charlotte arena that hosts the Skills Competition for Sprint All-Star Race XXVI. For the first three seasons, the NBA Bobcats had a deal that relegated their broadcasts to a TWC-owned and operated station that failed miserably, then on North Carolina only local news stations, and then Fox Sports Carolinas, but with a far more restricted territory.
If this happens we could see the animosity between TWC and the local government get worse. It's been a sore spot for nearly 20 years since WJBF (ABC Augusta) was dropped as WOLO (ABC Columbia) always shed its ABC identity for ACC Basketball on Wednesdays and weekends. Anything (figure skating, gymnastics, CART/IRL, NASCAR) would be kicked off to show the ACC, and the nearest ACC school is 170 miles away.
And I strongly believe that ESPN's consistent raising of per-subscriber fee will backfire. The next round of rates will be to pay for exclusivity of the BCS and The Open Championship, and I would not be surprised to see the BCS Championship Game moved to pay-per-view. Economically, Disney may be better off doing it since they can pay off an entire rights fee per year by a pay-per-view Championship Game and the other games on ESPN. I'm 35 miles from an SEC institution, and yet the move to ESPN Broadcast for the basketball championship from CBS is bad because our local ESPN Broadcast affiliate (WOLO) will ditch it to air the ACC, and the SEC will be blacked out.
I guess I'm swimming upstream here, but I love my Time Warner cable. I have the bundle with internet and phone, and it saves me a ton a money over Verizon.
I don't want to pay more. period. I'm also a big NFL fan, but agree with TW's reluctance to bend over and charge us more for a few games a year.
Well at least some of you get SPEED, if I want it, Comcast put it in a SPORTS PACKAGE, and charges xtra for it, so now I can't watch SPEED.......
I bet TWC cable wont lower their customers bills for the time the Fox Channels are not being broadcast on their cable system, but they sure would charge you if they added a new channel.
As if I needed another reason to hate TWC. This is just stupidity. They want their subscribers to pay out the wazoo and not get much for their money.
DirecTV just launched D-12 satellite.
So shines a good deed in a weary world.
More channels, better reception, happy customers, and MORE customers, hopefully, for those DirecTV guys.
And a possible deeper grave for Time Warner.
Perfect timing is an understatement.
I hope I can get DirecTV and a free season of HotPass if they decide to do it this year.
The Versus dispute with DirecTV is coming as NASCAR announced in November that they are in talks with Versus and Speed on a Modified television package, so DirecTV may not be happy with NASCAR if they go ahead and have a Speed/Versus split Modified package.
I just figured out how Time Warner gets it's insane figures on how many have voted "Get Tough" with their Get Tough or Roll Over campaign. When you go to the website, if you vote Roll Over, and hit submit, you get another window that says, "Are you sure you don't want us to get tough?". You're not able to vote roll over. So, that's how TWC is basically lying about how their customers are voting. What a bunch of crap.
You got that right! Just went and tried it myself. Clearly, they aren't at all interested in a fair hearing of voices. While I am no fan of FOX or their ilk, I find the tactics TWC using to be reprehensible.
Tom
Inverness, FL
Luckily I escaped this battle, but..This morning I woke up and found Food Network & HGTV off my TV and a Cablevision message bashing scripps.
All this is ridiculous. Both sides are using scare tactics and playing dirty and the consumers are stuck in the middle. The cable bill keeps increasing and the channels are being held ransom and suddenly gone. If it wasn't for NASCAR on Speed, I would only have basic cable.
News Corp and Scripps have both signed deals with TWC, but Cablevision didn't with Scripps.
The Fox deal was huge in our market (an SEC market) because the coach's shows for the South Carolina Gamecocks (aka Humpy and Jim Hunter U, since both were football players) moved strictly to cable this season after ISP didn't renew with WIS. If the deal failed, then the coach's shows would have been blocked, and in this suburban (Orangeburg) market, the coach's shows and the games (since the local radio station eliminated coverage this season) would have been entirely blocked, considering this we're seven miles from Alshon Jeffrey's hometown and (in baseball) eight miles from Blake Cooper's hometown.
I do believe that with TWC in the Charlotte area, it may have created a weapon for support to keep Speed on TWC. USF1 (remember F1 is on Speed), Speedway Motorsports (TWC sponsors media centers at TRK tracks) and Hendrick Motorsports (sponsored by TWC; the Jimmie Johnson commercials!) all wanted TWC to keep Speed. TWC also sponsors the IRL Road Runner Turbo 300 Saturday race on the CWTS O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 (Sunday) weekend at Kansas.
So it's over for TWC and Fox, which have a new deal, but Scripps and Cablevision jumped and betrayed. Remember Food's Mario Batali judged tailgating contests and has done NASCAR tailgating-themed shows.
It was settled and there will be no disruption of services.
I'm happy for you cable subscribers that this set of millionaires was able to strike a deal. Unfortunately I have DirecTV and I'm still getting screwed out of the NHL and IRL because the two sets of millionaires I'm stuck dealing with - Comcast and DirecTV - still refuse to make a deal. I wish the NHL or IRL would man up, look past the short term cash grab and instead look at the long-term consequences, and put some pressure on Comcast to stop trying to make those sports a self-serving Comcast-exclusive like CSN-Philly is by locking out the satellite companies.
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