retrans

The big TV broadcaster and the satellite distributor are at loggerheads over how much Dish should pay to carry CBS’s highly-rated programs,. As a result, CBS programming was removed from Dish early Tuesday morning. Dish subscribers who count on the service to serve up fare from a CBS-owned station can’t see it. The disagreement means 28 local channels in 18 markets across 26 states are off the air until the two sides can agree upon terms for a new contract.

CBS and Dish Network said Monday night that they have failed to reach an agreement on a new carriage deal. As a result, CBS’ broadcast network, several stations owned by CBS including in Los Angeles and New York, as well as CBS Sports Network, Pop and the Smithsonian Channel, are now dark on the nation’s No. 2 satellite service. The news comes as the companies’ contract expired at 10:59 PM PT.

A contract deadline has been set for shortly after midnight Monday going into Tuesday morning, when CBS could possibly remove its CBS and CW stations from Dish subscribers.

Broadcasters are free to move to the next-gen television transmission standard that has been in development for more than seven years. They view it as a potential game changer that is designed to enable them to enhance their broadcast abilities to mobile devices and allow them to tap into new business opportunities.

There are  three major carriage disputes that have left scores of thousands of viewers unable to watch their local channels for more than month: DirecTV vs. American Spirit Media, AT&T vs. Capitol Broadcasting and Dish Network vs. Lilly Broadcasting.

Scripps top TV exec Brian Lawlor says retrans-paying cable and satellite subs are down 2%-3%, but that new carriage-fee revenue from OTT skinny bundles should eventually offset the losses. In any event, retrans will grow 15% next year, while net retrans grows in low double digits.

Lilly Broadcasting believes it is close to bringing the month-long blackout of its stations on Dish Network to an end. Lilly COO John Christianson said the two parties are nearing a new retransmission consent deal for the broadcaster’s 11 stations. “I’ve had very positive conversations with Dish in the past several days, and we should have a resolution solved shortly with that for all properties, whether it’s in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New York or Pennsylvania,” Christianson said.

HITV, owner of Hawaii MyNetworkTV affiliate KFVE, filed a complaint with the FCC alleging that DirecTV violated the agency’s rules requiring it to negotiate in good faith.

Thursday evening the FCC released details of its proposal to OK ATSC 3.0 and retrans plays a big role. Under the proposed rules, must-carry protection would apply only to a broadcaster’s ATSC 1.0 transmission, not its new 3.0 signal, at least during the simulcasting period the FCC is planning to mandate to protect consumers during the transition. But the proposed rules also make clear that broadcasters will be free to negotiate retrans consent deals for carriage of their 3.0 programming, even during the simulcasting period.

The Hawaiian independent station was dropped from the satellite service Thursday following four extensions over the last seven weeks of its carriage deal.

Verizon feels that OTT streaming customers shouldn’t bear the brunt of a retransmission impasse between their internet provider — often a cable operator — and programmers, and wants the FCC to consider this in any reform of the retransmission consent process.

A month-long retrans impasse between AT&T and Dispatch Broadcast Group has been settled. A new three-year renewal has returned Dispatch’s CBS affiliate WBNS Columbus, Ohio, and NBC affiliate WTHR Indianapolis to DirecTV and U-Verse. Terms were not announced. DirecTV also ended its dispute with Denali Media Holdings.

The multi-year deal covers the broadcaster’s WRAL and WRAZ in Raleigh, N.C., as well as its WILM Wilmington, N.C.

To allow station blackouts in the middle of a retrans fight when hurricanes or other disasters loom as Lilly Broadcasting and Hearst did is not too smart. In addition to possibly depriving viewers of access to vital information, it gives retrans foes more ammunition in their fight against this valuable second revenue stream.

Perry Sook, CEO of Nexstar Broadcasting negotiated one of the earliest retrans deals with an MVPD in 2005 Since Sook took his stand, retrans has grown into a powerful second revenue stream, contributing $40 billion to the top line of the industry. It has kept broadcasting in the TV game. Here, Sook talks about how this vital second revenue stream came to be and its prospects for the immediate future.

After a decade of networks mainly negotiating for additional new cable channels, in 2005 broadcasters finally began to monetize their cable carriage on a regular basis. That revenue is fair in a marketplace where cable programmers have obtained ever-increasing fees for carriage, while top broadcast stations consistently deliver higher ratings in cable homes than most cable programs. Here’s some of the backstory of how that momentous change came to be.

The American Cable Association today launched TV Ransom, a national campaign to “set the record straight that corporate broadcasters are to blame for out-of-control retransmission consent fees and TV station blackouts […]

The cable group wants the FCC to add to its list of prohibited “bad faith” retrans negotiation actions a broadcaster’s failure to provide an MVPD with authorization to retransmit its signals, or an MVPD’s refusal to retransmit such signals, during emergency situations.

“There is no basis” for the story in The Street that says that Fox and Ion are forming a joint venture to own and operate their combined stations, the Wells Fargo analysts says in a note to clients. “This is a complete overreaction based on no underlying research, data or factual information, in our view.”

The cable service will pay more for ESPN and other Disney-owned networks under a tentative contract renewal. Disney shares rose $1.29 on Monday.

21st Century Fox stands to gain from an elevated offer from TV station owner Ion Media Networks for a joint venture that would combine the companies’ TV stations. According to two people familiar with the talks, the potential deal would give Fox as much as 90% of the retransmission fees for its affiliated stations collected by the JV from pay-TV operators. That’s a marked increase from where talks stood during the summer, the industry sources said.

The prospect of TV channels going dark due to a standoff between a media conglomerate and an MVPD has become so commonplace in recent years that it barely registers anymore. And with less than 4% of Disney’s total TV reach coming through its New York-based cable TV footprint, Altice USA may not have loomed too large as challenges go for Bob Iger. But the implications of Disney reaching agreement on an affiliate-fee renewal Sunday after extended talks with Altice shouldn’t be easily ignored.

The Cable Act of 1992 was a mixed bag. Its program access provision gave satellite TV a big boost by giving operators the ability to distribute the most popular cable networks. But the retrans provision have proved to be anticompetitive and “a complete, absolute disaster for consumers.”

Lilly Broadcasting’s COO says it has given permission to Dish Network to continue carrying its stations in storm-ravaged Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, although Lilly stations in Erie, Pa., go dark in a retrans dispute.

Cable operator Altice USA and Disney have reached “an agreement in principle” after days of tense contract talks. Talks between Altice and Disney went down to the wire Sunday afternoon against a 5 p.m. ET deadline for a new carriage agreement to avert a black out of ESPN, WABC-TV New York and other Disney-owned channels on Altice USA’s Optimum platform serving about 2.6 million New York-area subscribers.

Next Thursday is the 25^th anniversary of the law that empowered broadcasters to negotiate for retrans rights. If you are not celebrating the day, you should. Retrans has shifted nearly $40 billion from cable to broadcasting over the past 11 years. But it can’t save local TV forever. While the NAB continues to stave off cable retrans “reform” efforts, broadcasters must find ways to revitalize the spot business.

Walt Disney Co. is facing a crucial test of the strength of its ESPN sports empire as a New York pay-TV provider is balking at the Burbank entertainment giant’s contract demands, setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown. Altice is refusing to meet Disney’s demands to carry ESPN and Disney’s entertainment channels, including ABC, saying Disney is asking for too much money, particularly for ESPN, which has been struggling with subscriber losses and ratings declines.

After a number of extensions, Raycom Media signed a new carriage agreement with DirecTV on Wednesday, preventing a blackout of Raycom’s 54 stations. “Our local commitment is to always put the needs of the communities we serve first,” said Pat LaPlatney, Raycom CEO. “We’re pleased that we have been able to reach an agreement without any disruption to our viewers on the DirecTV system.”

Dish has reached a multi-year agreement with Citadel Communications for carriage of the ABC affiliate in Providence, R.I. The two sides had been working on a new agreement since late August when the old pact expired. Dish and Citadel signed a handful of temporary agreements to avoid a blackout.

AT&T has signed another temporary agreement with Raycom Media to keep its 40-plus local stations in AT&T’s DirecTV’s lineup. The new deadline for a carriage deal is tomorrow (Wednesday, Sept. 27) at 8 p.m. ET. If a new agreement is not signed by then, Raycom could pull its network affiliates from the satcaster.

Disney and the cable company once known as Cablevision are at it again. The two companies, whose fractious carriage negotiations in 2010 resulted in viewers in New York and Connecticut missing 13 minutes of ABC’s broadcast of the Oscars awards ceremonies, are heading for an impasse in current discussions, according to Disney.

Cable One subscribers in North Dakota currently don’t have access to two local ABC affiliates amid a retransmission dispute with station operator Forum Communications. Forum has put statements on the websites of ABC affiliates WDAY in Fargo and WDAZ in Grand Forks, informing viewers that its contract with Phoenix-based Cable One expired on Sept. 8.

Dispatch Broadcast Group’s WTHR Indianapolis (NBC) and WBNS Columbus, Ohio (CBS) are now off of DirecTV and AT&T U-verse. In a statement, Dispatch said that it “has completed numerous retransmission agreements in the past 12 months at fair market rates without any service interruption. Unfortunately, after offering an extension last Friday to hopefully reach a fair market deal, the deadline to reach a fair agreement with DirecTV and AT&T U-verse has passed, resulting in the interruption of service …. We will continue to work towards a fair agreement with DirecTV and AT&T U-verse and hope to resolve this situation as soon as possible.”

Service is restored in five markets Wednesday after the stations went dark on the cable systems late Tuesday night.

DirecTV and Raycom last night agreed to a second temporary extension in their carriage agreement, preventing a blackout of Raycom’s 54 stations. The extension runs through Sept. 12.

The two fail to reach a new retransmission consent agreement following a five-day extension of negotiations to Sept. 5.

The trade group tells the FCC that the merged entity should be given restrictions on its ability to negotiate for retransmission consent fees as well as be forced to comply with existing media ownership limits, not “hoped-for” relaxed ownership limits.

The broadcaster says it wants to ensure continued storm coverage and relief efforts so has moved the deadline for a new retrans deal with the satellite provider through Tuesday, Sept. 5.

DirecTV could lose more than 40 stations tonight due to a retrans dispute with their owner, Raycom. The current carriage pact between the companies expires at tonight at 11:59 ET and Raycom has turned the heat up with a sharply critical notice posted yesterday at its stations’ websites.

The satellite provider is up against a 11:59 P.M. deadline today with Raycom and is also facing losing two Dispatch Broadcast Group stations on Friday.