Most notable, and visible, is that between Disney and Time Warner Cable. At issue are the bevy of ESPN sports networks, and the ticking clock goes off on Thursday September 2nd. Disney has been running ads about the impending renewal negotiations for weeks, but it is widely believed that a deal will be reached by the deadline, or shortly thereafter. ESPN is one of the most valuable portfolios of pay TV channels -- not to mention the most expensive -- and it would be suicidal for Time Warner to drop the channels at the beginning of the NFL season.
Also at issue in the Disney - Time Warner talks is ABC programming, though local ABC programming through WBAY does not appear to be in jeopardy. The talks focus on ABC owned-and-operated television stations in markets like New York and Los Angeles.
AT&T U-Verse customers are also facing a down-to-the-wire contract negotiation, and could see Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel dropped from their lineups if a new deal is not struck by Tuesday, August 31st.
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I wonder if ESPN3 is part of
I wonder if ESPN3 is part of the negotiations? Cause I'd gladly pay a couple of extra bucks a month if TWC would pick up ESPN3.
(For those who don't know, ESPN3- formerly ESPN360- is a website that ESPN runs that allows you to watch out of market games and reruns of games. To access the website, your ISP has to pay ESPN for the service. And up until now, TWC has not paid for access to ESPN3- or ESPN360 before it.)
Sounds like ESPN3.com is part
Sounds like ESPN3.com is part of the negotiations-and part of the holdup in a deal being worked out:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-27/time-warner-cable-disney-talks-focus-on-espn-site.html
While I agree with Time Warner argument in principle- not wanting to be charged for all subscribers for a website that many will not use- and would rather see ESPN3 as a subscription service available to anyone with internet access regardless of their ISP, I want my ESPN3!
And the argument against Time Warner’s stance is that with the right advertising and education, a lot more Time Warner customers would likely utilize the ESPN3 website then watch a lot of the TV channels that they carry. In other words, they could use ESPN3 as more of a selling point than channels like the Hallmark Channel; the AmericanLife channel; FitTV; the Green Channel, 50 different versions of the Disney Channel, HBO, Encore, etc.
Reports going around are that
Reports going around are that Disney/ABC/ESPN have reached a deal with TWC (with just a few t's to cross and i's to dot before it's finalized).
Supporting these rumors are changes to the 2 propaganda websites that the companies set up (www.ihavechoices.com and www.rolloverorgettough.com).
Both sites now have the following messages up:
"Disney/ABC, ESPN and Time Warner Cable have made significant progress in our negotiations for continued distribution of ABC, Disney and ESPN networks and services. A deal would also include carriage on Bright House Networks. We are now focusing all our attention on a successful conclusion of these efforts prior to the September 2 deadline.
Please continue to check this site for further updates"
Here's to hoping that my wish for ESPN3 was somehow included.
You don't seem to consider
You don't seem to consider that not everyone is a sports viewer and many easily could live without all the ESPN's.
Well, I have no "in" or pull
Well, I have no "in" or pull with TWC, so my considerations don't matter much,
But ESPN being dropped was never going to happen. While not 'everyone' watches it, it's still one of their most popular channels- frequently beating the big 3 networks in ratings.
It looks like AT&T "pulled
It looks like AT&T "pulled the plug" on the 2 Hallmark channels last night after failing to come to an agreement by the deadline:
http://www.fierceiptv.com/story/t-pulls-plug-hallmark-channels-u-verse-subscribers/2010-09-01
I can't see them losing many (if any) customers over the loss of those 2 channels.
Latest news on the TWC/Disney
Latest news on the TWC/Disney negotiations is they still haven't finalized a deal, but they came to an agreement that kept TWC from having to "pull the plug" on the channels when the deadline passed last night while they continue negotiations.
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=135054
And the latest on the
And the latest on the AT&T/Hallmark negotiations is that AT&T is currently not negotiating with Hallmark.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/456654-AT_T_Hallmark_Still_No_Talks_Or_Carriage.php