FETV CEO And President Responds To Potential Carriage Termination, Calling Proposed Terms ‘Unfair’

Reported as a possibility two days ago by Cord Cutters News, according to a Family Entertainment Television (FETV) representative, Comcast has issued a potential cancellation notice to the network, saying that “until a new agreement is reached, there will be a Cancellation Notice effective December 31st.”

Comcast did not issue a comment to Cord Cutters News, but FETV CEO and President Drew Sumrall had this to say in a statement today:

“Carriage disputes are unfortunate and far too common. However, FETV is unique in that despite our top-30 Nielsen coverage ranking, MVPDs like Comcast routinely demand unfair terms from us that don’t even approach the broader marketplace. Specifically, numerous networks with a fraction of our audience are paid millions of dollars per year in license fees, while family-friendly independents like ourselves are given much less favorable terms, including demanding FETV pay for carriage. This issue is systemic, and it has nothing to do with viewership. Case in point, INSP—another very successful independent—was very recently re-tiered by Comcast in a carriage dispute. FETV and INSP’s combined primetime audience totals 600,000 households, which amounts to a top-5 audience on cable, or somewhere between MSNBC and HGTV. And yet companies like Comcast apparently want these independents drowned out while mega-companies drive up costs for every consumer. FETV does not charge our affiliates a license fee to be carried, and we refuse to be the scapegoat for a struggling industry desperate to offset losses wasted on content with little to no viewership. We deeply appreciate the millions of loyal viewers who watch our networks and will continue to fight every day to bring them affordable, family-friendly entertainment.”

*Editor’s note: A previous version of this story indicated that FETV had been dropped in a number of markets