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.
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