It's 2010 - Fox is still on TWC (for now) but Food & HGTV are off Cablevision
By Richard Lawler 
posted January 1st 2010 3:17PM
posted January 1st 2010 3:17PM
As two digits flipped over last night we waited to see if Fox and Time Warner Cable would work out their differences or turn channels dark.... and waited... and waited until we finally dozed off. As it stands, thanks to a series of extensions and ongoing negotiations, the channels are still on, but there's no new deal. As long as that remains to be the case, many football fans and several members of the government should be quite pleased, but in a New Year's Day surprise, Cablevision has rid itself of two networks on its service - Food Network and HGTV. While we've been upset by reports of some odd aspect ratio stretching on HGTV, these channels have their own fans that are upset to see them missing. Cablevision's posture seems to be that they won't be coming back, but parent company Scripps has already launched campaigns at ILoveHGTV.com and ILoveFoodNetwork.com for viewers to appeal for their return. We'll keep an eye on the ongoing Fox/TWC spat, though we're sure they wouldn't suddenly let channels go dark right before the Sugar Bowl tonight, would they?
I don't get how cable companies can charge you more money for more channels, yet drop channels and not give you a discount. Now Comcast; where the hell is my Comedy Central HD!
@MJGAMER 1991 XBL
You're perty.
Evil Cable Companies! Taking away my Food network, I f-ing love the Food network!
I look at this stuff, and all I can think is it indicates we desperately need some sort of unified decoding that would cover satellite, too. Because were I still in NJ (moved a couple of years ago, but when we were there we had Cablevision) I'd be switching to satellite right now: my wife watches a lot of Food Network and HGTV. If you've spent $1000 on a media center, with satellite that's useless. That you can drop so much money on equipment and then have it made useless when you switch provider (thank you, cable monopolies) is really unacceptable.
Well that pretty much solidifies the fact that I will never go back to Cablevision. The wife would die w/o HGTV. I had no intention to drop FIOS for cablevision again, but CV's offers kept getting cheaper and cheaper and were intriguing.
I don't caee about food network. If this means other broadcasters will not try to pull the same shit I'm all for it. The last thing I want is to pay more for cable.
Two of the 300 channels that get no air time on my TV, yet I am forced to pay for them. I dislike these niche channels that extort money from cable operators that then are placed in my lineup.
@iamjoecollector Food network and hgtv are hardly niche networks. They have huge viewer numbers. They have tons of commerical sponsorship and add new shows all the time. A lot of women (and men) enjoy these channels and it's often the only cable channels they will watch. If comcast dropped those networks my mom would get rid of her cable.
@LUISAMEZQUITA Apparently you are unaware what niche means. Niche is not necessarily defined to how many people view something or how many shows or commercial sponsorships they have but can mean a distinct segment of a market. Food network, is presumably, targeted at those interested in cooking and food related topics. HGTV is limited to subjects that have to do with home and garden. The fact that there are 12 different shows that cover different aspects of the same subjects makes no difference. There is very little subject diversity such as sports, weather, etc like you would find on Fox, FX or the like. The areas that Food Network and HGTV are limited and distinct subject, thus niche. Food Network and HGTV are more similar to the weather channel.
An example of a channel that is not geared toward a niche would be NBC, however, a particular show can be aimed at a niche market.
Where your "facts" fail in supporting your contention falls in their lack of mutual exclusivity. Just because men and women are interested in a particular channel does not preclude the channel from being a niche channel. For example, a channel that is dedicated to jazz only would be considered, without debate, as a niche channel; however, a jazz channel would appeal to men and women alike even if the demographic was skewed as it is with HGTV and Food Network.
In addition, the fact that your mom would get rid of her cable if Comcast dropped the two channels actually lends support to my point. She is interested in very few channels that cover very particular areas (niche channels) and is not interested in the variety that is implicit in having 300 channels that cover a wide range of topics.
I hate cablevision. Hgtv actually got a lot of play in my house. It's bad enough that we're spending more money for cablevision than for sattilite, but now we're getting half the channels. It makes sense since this is the same shitty company that owns the knicks, the worst team in the NBA. I swear to god the minute that fios is available I'm jumping ship. Anything is better than cablevision and their shit hardware.