Customer ServiceeRegister
The Gadgetress ~ TV, mobile and Internet: Covering technology's monthly bill

Archive for the 'Fox' Tag

Enough with the fees! TV providers team up to fix rising TV prices

March 12th, 2010, 2:28 pm by

Corrected, 3:50 p.m.: Apologies to Phillip Swann for mispelling his name. Also, I incorrectly said Comcast is buying CBS. Comcast is interested in NBC, as I’ve previously reported (sigh).

CATCHING UP: Time Warner Cable led a group on Tuesday asking the government to fix the rising price of TV service.

Well, sort of. The issue wasn’t about a customer’s rising bill but over “retransmission fees,” which TV channels charge to TV providers that want to retransmit the channel to customers. The TV services, of course, blame the fees for pushing up a customer’s monthly bill.

On Thursday, U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski appeared to have listened. During an Senate committee meeting, Genachowski talked about the retransmission issues and said that the ”framework that is in place … may have lost pace with changes in the marketplace,” reports the L.A. Times.

These retrans fees gets renegotiated every year or so and pretty much always go up. Here is one estimated list of how much a TV customer ends up paying for each channel.

But disputes over retrans fees have left some cable customers wondering if they’ll be staring at a blank TV screen. We here in Orange County felt this over the holidays when Fox threatened to take away channels from Time Warner customers. The fee fight was resolved with no disruption in TV service.

But last weekend, Cablevision customers on the East Coast missed the first 30 minutes of the Oscars because the cable company didn’t come to an agreement in time with Walt Disney-owned ABC. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • | 8 Comments »

New soccer channel debuts on Dish, DirecTV and FiOS

March 1st, 2010, 11:12 am by

Noted: If you love soccer, a new channel is coming your way. Fox Soccer Plus debuts today on several TV services. But it may not come cheap. See below for details.

The new channel is part of Fox Soccer channel and replaces the Setanta Sports, which called it quits in the United States yesterday, Feb. 28. The TV network continues to broadcast overseas. Here in the states, Setanta gave up its programming rights to several soccer and rugby events.

The new Fox channel features at least 600 exclusive matches, including the Carling Cup, England’s FA Cup and the Coco-Cola Championship. It will also include some rugby matches.

If you’re a fan, the services below are offering the channel or will soon:

Dish Network: Channel 406, available for $14.99 a month. Details

DirecTV: Fox Soccer Plus replaces Setanta Sports for existing customers at no extra cost. It’s $14.99 per month.  Details

Verizon FiOS: Automatically switches Setanta Sports customers to new channel, airing on 1009. Also $14.99 per month. Details

Time Warner Cable: Coming soon, according to a USA Today story.

Recent sports TV news:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

Time Warner Cable could lose 30 channels

January 22nd, 2010, 12:01 am by

Time Warner Cable photo, courtesy of AP.With the contentious Fox TV negotiations behind it, Time Warner Cable is now dealing with 30 other channels currently offered to  subscribers.

Food Networks, the Starz channels and The Weather Channel are among those “due to expire soon, and we may be required to cease carriage of one or more of these services/stations in the near future,” the company said. That means cable customers could lose those 30 channels, which are listed below.

By law, the cable provider must give customers 30-days notice (see rule at bottom of this FCC page)  if any channels could be interrupted. Time Warner’s Orange County office did that this week by updating its programming alerts page. Some channels showed up in my last report about expiring channels. This either means the contract with the channel has expired and Time Warner continues to negotiate or Time Warner offered more than a 30-day notice. The company won’t say.

What’s the likelihood of losing those channels? Low, said Alex Dudley, a spokesman for Time Warner Cable.

“Contracts between programmers and distributors expire all the time and we’re required to provide our customers with notice of those expiring contracts,” he said. “It’s extremely rare when programming is loss.”

Still, contract disputes have left some cable customers staring at a blank screen. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • | 41 Comments »

Time Warner and Fox settle differences

January 1st, 2010, 6:09 pm by

Time Warner Cable settles contract dispute with FoxAs of 4 p.m., Time Warner has settled its contract dispute with News Corp., allowing cable customers to continue watching Fox TV.

Terms were not disclosed. The New York Times reports that News Corp. wanted $1 per subscriber per month, whereas Time Warner wanted to pay much less:

“In tense negotiations with Time Warner Cable, Fox had demanded about a dollar a subscriber per month, far more than other stations have received. Time Warner Cable thought 30 cents was more reasonable, said people briefed on the talks who insisted on anonymity because the specifics of the talks were confidential. Most likely, the two companies reached a compromise on the price, but both refused to comment Friday on the figure.”

Read the New York Times story: “Time Warner and Fox Reach Deal for Cable Distribution.”

Both sides updated their web sites targeting consumers with the announcement:

Time Warner: RolloverorGetTough.com

Fox: KeepFoxOn.com

Read past coverage:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • | 22 Comments »

Time Warner prepares to lose Fox TV tonight

December 31st, 2009, 12:01 am by

I’m still on vacation but since Time Warner and Fox haven’t settled their differences, it’s looking like this will be another long New Year’s Eve. Here is the latest and I’ll offer updates when possible. ~ Tamara ‘Gadgetress’ Chuang

twcfox364

It’s now pretty difficult to ignore the TV commercials hoping to pit the public against Fox TV or Time Warner Cable. The cable provider and TV network’s parent News Corp. have spent the past two weeks soliciting our sympathy because of a disagreement over money.

News Corp. wants to be compensated for the Fox TV network, which unlike cable channels doesn’t get paid by cable providers to offer the channel to cable customers. Time Warner says that price — reportedly $1/month per subscriber — is too much.

Neither side appears to be budging as tonight’s midnight deadline approaches and Fox plans to make good on its threat to pull its shows off the air for millions of Time Warner customers. News Corp.’s President Chase Carey told employees in a memo on Wednesday, “At this time, it looks like we will not reach an agreement and our channels may very well go off the air,” reported the New York Times.

Meanwhile, Time Warner’s chief executive Glenn Britt made it clear in a letter to Senator John Kerry that steps are being taken by the company to prepare for the loss of Fox. Time Warner agreed to let a mediator decide the fate, as Kerry suggested.

“…Time Warner Cable will agree to whatever interim steps are necessary to preserve consumers’ uninterrupted access to FOX programming after our current agreement expires on December 31, including your suggestion to enter into binding arbitration.” Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • | 65 Comments »

Time Warner could lose ‘Simpsons,’ ‘American Idol,’ more Fox shows

December 18th, 2009, 11:52 am by

Updated, 2:30 p.m. Consumer group says what this fight is all about: Money, not consumers. See below.

twcfox364News Corp. began its advertising blitz against Time Warner Cable today by appealing to viewers who are fans of “NFL on Fox,” “24,” “American Idol” and “The Simpsons.” The word-heavy commercial says:

“Time Warner Cable is using programming costs as an excuse to raise your bill while they continue to rake in billions in profits and even though they’ve just announced a 20% rate increase in some cities, they’re telling you they may have to increase your bill again to continue to offer the NFL on Fox, 24, American Idol, The Simpsons, Glee and more. Tell Time Warner Cable to stop making exucuses and continue to give you the programs you want at a price that is fair.”

The commercial then offers a phone to call in — 866-KEEP-FOX — and a Web site: Keepfoxon.com.

Time Warner, which has 14 million subscribers, says the opposite. A spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal, which is also owned by News Corp., “Negotiations are ongoing, but Fox’s current demands are unreasonable, especially in this economic climate,” said Maureen Huff, a Time Warner Cable spokeswoman.

POLL: Want Fox TV?
When it comes to Fox TV,
View Results

But wait. What’s really happening here?

For nine months, News Corp. and Time Warner have been negotiating over the price Time Warner must pay per subscriber in order to offer Fox and other channels to viewers.

If a deal isn’t reached by midnight Dec. 31, Time Warner subscribers in New York, Los Angeles, Austin, Dallas, Detroit, Orlando and Tampa could lose Fox TV and other News Corp.’s channels, which include FX, SPEED, FUEL TV, Fox Movie Channel, Fox Reality Channel, Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports en Español. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • • • | 57 Comments »

Cable TV bills will go up if Fox, CBS get their way

October 28th, 2009, 7:57 am by

Cable TV The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Fox TV parent News Corp. and CBS Corp. are demanding that cable providers pay a monthly fee for the broadcast TV station.

News Corp. wants $1 per customer per month from Time Warner Cable Inc, reports the WSJ.  Traditionally, cable TV providers haven’t paid paid cash fees from over-the-air broadcast networks.

If News Corp. gets its way, that’s a minimum of $12 added to a customers bill. The Wall Street Journal didn’t report how much CBS is seeking.

The broadcasters say they need more money as advertising slumps and cable companies, like Time Warner and Comcast, start their new adventures in offering the same TV shows online (see earlier story on “Time Warner plans to offer popular shows online — to paying customers).

Time Warner Cable @GadgetressGot a question for Time Warner Cable? Here’s your chance to get it answered. Click HERE

News Corp’s contract with Time Warner expires at the end of the year, which means if a new contract isn’t signed, Fox could be pulled from Time Warner. This is definitely not unheard of. Remember last Christmas? Viacom, which owns Comedy Central and Nickalodeon, demanded more money per user from Time Warner. The battle over what is known as carriage fees grew so critical that Viacom ran a scrolling message below most programs telling fans to call their cable provider and demand to keep the channel. The two resolved the fee issue just hours before the New Year (see ““).

Read the Wall Street Journal story: Broadcasters Seek Cable-TV Fees

More TV news:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • | 49 Comments »

Channel 11 (Fox) still missing from many O.C., L.A. TVs

September 22nd, 2009, 8:39 am by

KTTV's Channel 11, a Fox TV networkThe transition to digital TV happened eons ago  – okay, just three months ago. But I’m still hearing from a few readers about issues. Mainly, they no longer get KTTV’s Channel 11, the Fox TV network.

“I didn’t care much as the summer was full of reruns and bad reality shows, but now that the new television season has kicked off, I want my new episodes! And what, oh what am I to do when ‘American Idol’ starts?” wrote reader Francine Jacome, from Newport Beach.

Amazingly, Jacome is not alone. I spoke to Fox TV maintenance engineer Will McCreary, who filled me in on why Fox TV reception is so poor in Orange County and Los Angeles.  He said they get calls daily complaining about it.

“We’re running at one-tenth the power we normally do and (the channel) is not getting to people,” McCreary said.

Fox is trying to fix that. The station has already received Federal Communication Commission approval to bump power back up to 100 percent. But since it invested in new digital technology, the existing tools can’t support that much power. New equipment has been ordered but those might not be installed and working until January or February 2010, he said. So much for football season.

Other stations nationwide are having major issues too, according to a recent Associated Press story. Channels that moved from the UHF band (channels 14 to 69) to the VHF band (channels 2 to 13) had difficulties because many viewers have inadequate indoor antennas. VHF also hadn’t been used much for digital signals. Since the switch from analog to digital broadcasts in June, at least 20 VHF stations have asked the FCC to move their digital signal back to UHF, says the Associated Press.

Fox TV in Los Angeles is working on an interim solution to get power to 30 percent the prior norm. That needs FCC approval, which could come any day now.

Tips for consumers who are missing channels: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • | 20 Comments »

SEO Powered by Platinum SEO from Techblissonline