Poll: Will Fox actually pull the plug on New Years day?

We've seen a number of carriage disputes in the past few years but none as interesting as this. With only hours to go until midnight and 2010, Timer Warner Cable and Bright House Network customers around the country have no idea if they'll be able to watch some of the biggest College Football Bowl Games tomorrow. This is not like other disputes as none have meant that programming as popular as College Football would be withheld. The other interesting thing going on is that local broadcasters are getting serious about charging for its signal. Fox is refusing to let the issue go to arbitration or to any interim carriage agreements so it appears TWC is going to have to make a hard decision tonight. We have to say we'd be shocked if Time Warner Cable didn't cave at the last minute, but crazier things have happened and if we were one of those subscribing to cable in New York, Los Angeles, Tampa, Orlando, Dallas and Austin; we'd probably play it safe and test out our antenna today.

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[mmaestro Posted Dec 31st 2009 7:45PM]

So here's my bet. FOX pull the plug in the evening, after the Bowl games. They don't want the ill will depriving people of those games would create. TWC panic when they actually lose the signal, and they hash out an agreement 3-4 days later, in which TWC mostly caves, but gets some token concession they can take to their subscribers to say they were doing the right thing, and playing hardball.

[Michael Kirschner Posted Dec 31st 2009 7:58PM]

Everyone will remember where they were in 09' during the "Fox Signal Crisis"

[FNG Posted Dec 31st 2009 8:44PM]

@Michael Kirschner

you mean the '10 "Fox Signal Crisis" ?

[djp952 Posted Dec 31st 2009 8:01PM]

I believe it was exactly 10 years ago when we lost something on Cox cable down in Hampton Roads. I think it was also Fox, but because of the broadcasting group, not Fox itself. It did indeed go dark at midnight as promised. Of course, once that happened the viewers were all pissed off and the problem got resolved. If a deal isn't done, yeah, it will go dark by contract, but it's not likely to last long. I give it a week tops.

[Smurf Posted Dec 31st 2009 9:22PM]

Good for you Time Warner, (I don't get to say that often!), stick to your guns.

If Fox wants a raise and I don't want to give it to them, I'll just watch their shows using my RoadRunner internet connection where Fox will earn pennies on the dollar for advertisements.

I just bought a second modem for an extra Road Runner Turbo connection... Two 15 to 20mbit connections for $70/mo... not bad. It's not DOCSIS 3.0 or FIOS, but it's not bad.

[EatingPie Posted Dec 31st 2009 9:22PM]

Of course it will get resolved. Just like the Viacom thing was resolved. Viacom wanted more money, Time Warner went to bat for its customers by keeping their channels on and paying the money... whose cost they then passed on to the customers by raising rates.

TWC is just trying to act like they're here for us customers. It's just a boatload of BS. They will pay, meaning we will pay. Simple as that.

-Pie

[JustAnnuthaDewd Posted Jan 1st 2010 1:33AM]

Has the entire country forgotten that the "local" channels can be gotten entirely for free with a TV antenna? In HD no less these days. Time-Warner should tell Fox to go take a hike. We shouldn't have to pay hiked rates for something that is readily available for nothing.

[devron Posted Jan 1st 2010 9:57AM]

@JustAnnuthaDewd Exactly. I thought this was a tremendous opportunity for the Yahoo and CNET-type sites and local media to educate folks on ATSC and OTA. When I tell people complaining about this in the office that of their TV is less than 2 years old that more than likely they can get Fox in HD without a box (and maybe in better quality than via cable) you'd have thought by their reactions that I just said 'men from Mars have landed'.

[Michael Kirschner Posted Jan 1st 2010 10:56AM]

@JustAnnuthaDewd not everyone can receive OTA broadcasts because some people may live in a valley surrounded by mountains, or any other type of obstruction like mountains. In addition some people might not want to decrease the value of their home by putting up a large aerial.

[JustAnnuthaDewd Posted Jan 1st 2010 11:31AM]

@Michael Kirschner

I can understand how a very small part of the population can't get an OTA signal. And a TV antenna decreasing a home value? LOL! It's a freaking antenna that can be removed with ease, if that really bothers someone. If anything, it should INCREASE the value because locals can be gotten FREE in HD with one, at a higher quality than what the cable networks re-transmit.

But that's not so much my point. Let me ask this... should Time-Warner be paying Engadget for the right to make Engadget available on Road Runner? Pay Google? Pay Amazon? Or any other number of sites? That would have everyone up in arms if that was proposed. Yet this is exactly the same scenario being played out with cable and satellite TV. TW shouldn't be paying stations to retransmit when their revenue stream is advertising, and freely available OTA already. TW is just helping them reach a few more customers, and at a greater convenience to them all. Take that away, and Fox has less reach, less revenue. The cable and satellite providers should simply be a dumb pipe.

[kcmurphy88 Posted Jan 1st 2010 12:51PM]

Time-Warner should flip the switch. Retransmission of commercial-filled broadcast TV should be free. Fox is adding no value.

Of course, I have another carrier so this is like voting for my union to go on strike somewhere else.