Carriage Agreements Expiring

[hgtvlover]

I am with you, will disconnect AT&T on November 1 unless they reach an agreement. I have called customer service twice and they just say that the TV Network is asking for too much money. If you ask me AT&T is asking for too much money if they keep losing channels. How come my little local carrier can keep these channels and a mega-giant like AT&T can't. Let's all stick to our guns and have a mutiny. They certainly are not trying to keep our business.

[texasguy37 ACE - Expert]

Make sure you come back to forum on November 1st.

[Grail]

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hgtvlover wrote:

I am with you, will disconnect AT&T on November 1 unless they reach an agreement. I have called customer service twice and they just say that the TV Network is asking for too much money. If you ask me AT&T is asking for too much money if they keep losing channels. How come my little local carrier can keep these channels and a mega-giant like AT&T can't. Let's all stick to our guns and have a mutiny. They certainly are not trying to keep our business.

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hgtvlover wrote:

I am with you, will disconnect AT&T on November 1 unless they reach an agreement. I have called customer service twice and they just say that the TV Network is asking for too much money. If you ask me AT&T is asking for too much money if they keep losing channels. How come my little local carrier can keep these channels and a mega-giant like AT&T can't. Let's all stick to our guns and have a mutiny. They certainly are not trying to keep our business.

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Just make sure you check the contract status for your favorite channels with your new provider.  You may be seriously disappointed in just a short time.  Afterall, DISH just turned off FX and other fox channels, Cablevision just turned off FOX, DirecTV lost Versus for 6 months, ......the list goes on.  This is just the current state of cable television.  Everybody wants to make more money.  With the economy in the dumps, advertising is down.  With DVRs so prevelent, people are skipping the commercials, so advertising revenue is down.  How do they make more money?  They charge the cable providers, which ultimately have to pass the cost on to you.  How do the providers keep the costs down?  They fight for every penny with the stations. 

It isn't pretty, but it is the world we live in.  You just have to decide if the cost to change is ultimately worth it, considering contracts, installation fees, and de-installation fees.  All those factors, and 2 months from now, your new provider may be dropping another channel you like.

I won't tell you to stay with Uverse, I'll just advise you to do your homework.

[hgtvlover]

I understand that AT&T has to make money, but I feel that these are very popular channels, and many of us watch them more than network TV so if there is an increase to keep the channels we should be given the choice to pay more or not. Just put them on another tier in pricing like they do for other subscriber channels.

[texasguy37 ACE - Expert]

U-verse cannot arbitrarily place a channel on a tier.  The placement has to be agreed to by the content provider.  The tier on which a channel is placed is part of the carriage agreement because it affects the amount of money that will be paid to the content provider for carrying the channel.

[bedwards_1]

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Craig H wrote:

Well, losing Fox News just means that viewers might start to get actual news

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Losing FOX news would mean the left wins and controls all news sources. The only place to get news without the left slant, fair and ballanced and wins in prime time coverage EVERY night, 3 times the viewers that CNN/NBC/MSNBC has. MSNBC.com is complaing about MSNBC and NBC selling out to the left and THEY want to know when MSNBC and NBC will get back into the news business. It was priceless!!!

[fmeekabc]

I don't suppose AT&T will refund any part of the monthly charges if they drop channels.

[texasguy37 ACE - Expert]

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fmeekabc wrote:

I don't suppose AT&T will refund any part of the monthly charges if they drop channels. 

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Would also you like to see your bill increased each time a new channel is added?

[milkman]

fmeekabc wrote:

I don't suppose AT&T will refund any part of the monthly charges if they drop channels. 

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TG wrote:

Would also you like to see your bill increased each time a new channel is added?

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I would like to see a plus / minus chart for UV programming. This many added. This many "lost". I use quotations on lost because channels in question are not lost. They are currently in negotiations. Many more channels and services have been added if you care to do any research into the very service you have.

 Does your grocery store refund part of your bill if they discontinue the brand of cereal you like?

 You make another choice! Find another store.  

[tmiw]

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bedwards_1 wrote:

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Craig H wrote:

Well, losing Fox News just means that viewers might start to get actual news

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Losing FOX news would mean the left wins and controls all news sources. The only place to get news without the left slant, fair and ballanced and wins in prime time coverage EVERY night, 3 times the viewers that CNN/NBC/MSNBC has. MSNBC.com is complaing about MSNBC and NBC selling out to the left and THEY want to know when MSNBC and NBC will get back into the news business. It was priceless!!!

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I'm pretty sure foxnews.com would still be available online if that happened. 

[bedwards_1]

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fmeekabc wrote:

I don't suppose AT&T will refund any part of the monthly charges if they drop channels.

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No but they are sending you a bill for all the new ones added this year! Good news HUH??

Ch lost:

Setanta Sports

FOX Reality Channel

Hallmark

Hallmark movie

Ch added, that I could find on the blog over the past year:

Nat Geo Wild

CBS College Sports Television

Showtime Showcase - West

Showtime Extreme - West

TMC Xtra - West

Fox Soccer Channel moved from U300 to U200

TrutvHD

CNN HN HD

Discovery kids HD

TCM HD

The Tennis ch

The tennis ch HD

Halogen HD

(Spanish language)

Futura

Once

Azteca America

Mexico 22

TV Columbia

TVE

TV Chili

Telefe

Centroamerica

Television Dominicana

V-me Kids

Multimedios

CBTV Michoacan

Venemovies

Cine Mexicano

Bandamax

Ritmoson

There was a lot of new sports HD channels added

There was the Cubs multi view ch added, I read was available in Chicage only.

ABC Family Channel HD

Disney Channel HD

Disney XD HD

ReelzChannel

Cartoon Network HD

FUNimation Channel HD

Havoc TV HD

Sony Movie Channel

I know I missed some. I read where other channels were added but not in all areas, and I think those were sports. Anyone else got anymore I couldn't find?

[chuckbuck]

Not aware of the Havoc TV HD channel being added at this time.

Chuck

[dhascall ACE - Master]

Havoc was supposed to be on 1490 but may have been delayed?

[milkman]

bedwards_1: Thanks for the research. When I get upgraded on the Forum, I'll send you a kudo!!

Until then: KUDOS!  

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I wrote:

I would like to see a plus / minus chart for UV programming. This many added. This many "lost". I use quotations on lost because channels in question are not lost. They are currently in negotiations. Many more channels and services have been added if you care to do any research into the very service you have.

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Edit: Well what do you know? An upgrade. I've been granted kudo power. I must sign off as I am starting to feel giddy with power.

[artim1]

What good is the addition of new HD channels when ATT does not have a fix for the unpredictable and incredibly bothersome audio drop-out problem on HD channels?

[bedwards_1]

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artim1 wrote:

What good is the addition of new HD channels when ATT does not have a fix for the unpredictable and incredibly bothersome audio drop-out problem on HD channels?

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MAJOR Eye ROLL!!! I have no audio issues, none. But I'm only using my TV for sound. I don't have 5.1 blah blah blah with a special receiver ect ect

[bedwards_1]

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chuckbuck wrote:

Not aware of the Havoc TV HD channel being added at this time.

Chuck

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Sorry, I read it somewhere on here. my bad!

[al0123]

This was in the Chicago Tribune yesterday evening. Although it sounds promising, I am one of those people who will not keep AT&T Uverse if they loose Food Network and HGTV. We'll see what happens. 

Food Network and U-verse: No news is good news?

Posted by Steve Cavendish

With a deadline five days away, neither AT&T's U-verse service nor Scripps Networks has made any sort of announcement regarding negotiations that would allow AT&T's U-verse to continue carrying  Scripps' programming. 

What does that mean for fans of Scripps' Food Network, Cooking Channel and HGTV? It may fall into the category of "no news is good news." Traditionally, negotiations between cable, satellite or iptv operators and networks over such agreements go down to the wire.

When contacted on Monday, a spokesman for Scripps referred The Stew to a 3-week-old statement that noted that "Scripps Networks certainly doesn’t want viewers to experience any interruption of their favorite shows, and we are working with AT&T to get new distribution agreements in place before the contract expires."

"Nothing has changed," the spokesman said.

In past disputes, such as one with Cablevision at the beginning of the year, Scripps launched Web sites such as ilovefoodnetwork.com and iloveHGTV.com to mobilize fans and put pressure on cable systems. There have been no such PR offensives this time, nor has AT&T launched "informational" Web pages pleading its side of the dispute, as it did with att.com/fighting4you during a dispute with Hallmark Channel in September.

AT&T has made significant inroads in the area and is estimated to be available to more than a million people in the Chicago suburbs.

(http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/thestew/2010/10/food-network-and-u-verse-no-news-is-good-news...)

[ilgoldstein]

Well in my book no news is no news.  I don't appreciate being strung along like this.

[texasguy37 ACE - Expert]

Well, if there is no news, there is no news.

[dhascall ACE - Master]

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ilgoldstein wrote:

Well in my book no news is no news.  I don't appreciate being strung along like this.

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Just how are you being strung along?  The contract does not expire until Sunday.  AND even then, if there are no agreements, they normally opt to keep the channel on until they sign something (the glaring exception was Hallmark / Crown Media, who declined - and forced UV to pull them).

Look - I hope that they come to an agreement too but I trust that AT&T and Scripps will make it happen.  I do not need daily reports on how the talks are going "today we talked about HGTV HD and then we went to lunch at Chillis."  I do not need to see how the talks are going - just the end result.

[bedwards_1]

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ilgoldstein wrote:

Well in my book no news is no news.  I don't appreciate being strung along like this.

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WHAT! they didn't call you? they call me, and they ate lunch at Red Robin (YUM), Chillis had a wait.

[chrisw]

I think I'm going to start complaining before the channels are pulled. I don't know if AT&T is in talks with the companies, but I'm going to complain anyway.. because my channels are still here, and I have nothing better to do.

Or maybe i'll just wait and complain if or when the channels get pulled. Sounds like a better idea.

[dwinth]

For all of you one and dones, it appears that you did not have to get hysterical about losing Food, DIY, HGTV, GAC, Cooking, and Outdoor channels. I turned on the television this morning, and they are still on.

[bedwards_1]

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dwinth wrote:

For all of you one and dones, it appears that you did not have to get hysterical about losing Food, DIY, HGTV, GAC, Cooking, and Outdoor channels. I turned on the television this morning, and they are still on.

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They are patting themselvs on the back for saving them by logging on and making one post!

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Expert]

I think they actually came to an agreement several weeks/days ago.  There apparently was no reason for the agreement to become public, which says that it was made amicably.

Again, the postcard was simply to satisfy FCC requirements.

[Grail]

According to their Facebook page no contract has been signed.  Both sides agreed to continue negotiating and to leave the channels in place during the negotiations.

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Expert]

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Grail wrote:

According to their Facebook page no contract has been signed.  Both sides agreed to continue negotiating and to leave the channels in place during the negotiations.

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Not quite sure what the deal is, they aren't extremely forthcoming with information.

7 Hours ago:

We are continuing our negotiations with Scripps to reach a fair deal for our customers. Both sides have agreed to continue discussions, and the channels remain on the air for U-verse customers.

And about 1 hour ago:

They're still in our lineup, and we're still working with Scripps so our customers can keep these shows.

Apparently this means that a final deal indeed hasn't been reached.  But if they both agreed to keep the channels on during negotiation then they can't be too far apart -- i.e. both sides think a deal is pretty close.

But, on the other hand, how much "in the loop" is the social media team that's responding to facebook posts?  Can they really be kept up-do-date on the status of the negotiations?  Do they know for sure that the negotiations are still ongoing, or are they saying that because that was the last status they were told some time ago?

Nevertheless, I'm happy that the channels are still there.  Always a good sign.

[dhascall ACE - Master]

Agree - no news is good news and the fact that they are still on is encouraging and bodes well for their remaining on, though some thing could change.

[milkman]

Grail wrote:

According to their Facebook page no contract has been signed.  Both sides agreed to continue negotiating and to leave the channels in place during the negotiations.

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Could this actually be commonsense between two Corporations?

Ahh ... Probably not.