I am glad that Sen. Kerry is getting involved with this Fox/Cablevision spat. Some chilling stuff.

[beachmom]

Apparently, Fox is in a fight with Cablevision over how much it wants the cable company to pay it in order to stay on the air. This dispute is still in progress and means the New York market is now missing the Giants game. Although sports isn't my thing, it is for millions of people who are paying quite a lot every month for cable TV. Here is the latest on the dispute:

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/giants-game-in-the-balance-in-cablevision-fox-fight/

4:21 p.m. | Updated The contract dispute between Fox and Cablevision appears likely to drag into a third day.

Fox, a unit of News Corporation, said Sunday afternoon that the two companies were still “far apart,” and that they would resume talks on Monday.

Due to the dispute, Fox has been blacked out in about three million Cablevision homes in the New York metropolitan area since early Saturday morning. Cablevision subscribers were unable to watch the Giants-Lions football game on Sunday afternoon, provoking widespread complaints.

Subscribers were also blocked Sunday from seeing the Cowboys-Vikings game that followed the Giants.

Now here is what I find particularly chilling. This dispute has now moved from the television to the internet:

http://newteevee.com/2010/10/16/fox-cuts-off-hulu-good-and-bad-for-cable-subscribers/

The fight over how much Cablevision would pay Fox in retransmission fees escalated to a new level this morning, as news outlets confirmed that Fox had denied Cablevision’s broadband customers access to Hulu and Fox.com. With the move, Fox entered a new low in the war between content providers and pay television companies as they negotiate the fees that programmers charge pay TV providers, and may have created a new wrinkle for regulatory politics. However, it may also show how online television has gained in importance for large content companies, enough so that it too can become a pawn in these retransmission fights.

Fox is seeking more money from Cablevision, about $80 million more a year, in order to keep the cable company’s 3 million customers watching episodes of The Simpsons and Monday Night Football NFC football games. Retransmission fights have been getting more contentious lately, and this one is no exception, with Fox threatening on Friday to cut off Cablevision’s subscribers if a deal wasn’t reached by midnight.

Okay, now I get that none of us would lament the loss of fox.com. But still, I think the internet should be the same internet no matter who you use for that internet connection. But as of now, as a Comcast customer I have a different internet than a Cablevision customer. Even worse, is that Hulu.com has now added a subscription service -- for $10 a month you can watch entire seasons of shows. Except now if it is a Fox produced TV show, you're out of luck. Senator Kerry has gotten involved, although he hasn't reacted yet to this escalation:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43704.html

In the immediate aftermath, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) has already promised a “systemic reform” of the entire retransmission rules system, which he said on Saturday would ensure consumers don’t lose access to their favorite stations when broadcasters and cable companies fail to see eye to eye.

“Otherwise, high stakes games of chicken will just continue, and those in government will be left in the position of decrying what's happening to consumers while trying not to favor one side in a dispute. That's a tricky and unproductive proposition and it's not sustainable,” said the senator, who leads his chamber’s communications subcommittee.

A spokeswoman for the senator later told POLITICO that Kerry intends to introduce his bill during the lame-duck session.

Kerry’s warning shot is the latest development in the ongoing feud between content providers and pay-TV carriers over retransmission fees. Companies like Fox have recently sought more compensation from cable providers like Cablevision, citing higher operating costs, and they resist any change to a regime they see as fair and free-market oriented. But pay-TV operators have fought aggressively against any new fees, which they sometimes pass off to consumers through higher cable bills — and they’re often the same proponents of retransmission consent reform.

It would seem a provision on the internet is needed in this legislation.

[beachmom]

1. And the BG political blog has decided to cover this story:

Kerry vows to file a bill to prevent TV blackouts due to broadcaster and cable operator disputes

Posted by Stephanie Vallejo October 19, 2010 05:52 PM

Sometimes politics transcends even bitter sports rivalries.

Commiserating with fans of the New York Giants, Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry vowed today to file a bill that would seek to avoid television blackouts that result from disputes between broadcasters and cable operators.

...

"The voices of angry consumers in this weekend’s news coverage speak volumes,'' Kerry said in a letter detailing his bill to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski. "Many football fans had to leave home, denied the service they faithfully pay for, and even bring their children to bars to watch the game.''

Such blackouts could become commonplace, said Kerry, chairman of the communications, Internet and technology subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee. He said upcoming negotiations between FOX and the DISH Network could threaten the programming for thousands of households in Boston and millions nationwide.

In response, Kerry's bill would call for the FCC to act as a referee when cable operators and broadcasters reach an impasse.

Go to the link to read the rest:

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2010/10/kerry_vows_to_f.html

Here is the letter Kerry wrote:

http://kerry.senate.gov/press/release/?id=84bcc1bf-c9dc-4893-9488-aedf56d8b953

[beachmom]

2. Here is an article from the NYT of how this all sets precedent:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/business/media/20hulu.html?_r=1&src=twt&twt=NYTimesAd

Internet Is a Weapon in Cable Fight

In disputes between television programmers and distributors, the new battleground is the Internet.

In its continuing contract showdown with Cablevision, the News Corporation tried to extend its blackout of the Fox Broadcasting network to Fox.com and to Hulu, the popular Web site for free TV viewing, on Saturday. Angry Cablevision customers reported being unable to watch episodes of “Glee” and “House” on Hulu.

The blackout caused shock waves because it had not been done before by a programmer. Though the shutdown was brief, the message was unmistakable: do not expect to be able to watch Fox online unless you are paying for Fox on TV.

Just imagine if you can't have access to your favorite websites if you happen to have a certain broadband connection. I think this is a major story, largely under the radar. This shows what net neutrality is about, and it is a REAL EXAMPLE that people can understand.

Edit: oh, and another rep. from Mass. is on it:

Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, said in a statement on Saturday, “The tying of cable TV subscription to access to Internet fare freely available to other consumers is a very serious concern.”