Bright House to drop TWC?

[weathrlver]

I found this in my email this evening. Found it interesting that it is coming out NOW... after the whole mess with DISH network boiled over and we gained, then lost, The Weather Cast.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/may/28/weather-channel-risk-bright-house-negotiation/

The Weather Channel at risk in Bright House negotiation

By RICHARD MULLINS | The Tampa Tribune
Bright House Networks customers, get out a pencil and paper. The cable television provider will soon change dozens of channel numbers, may lose channels altogether, and will force some customers to upgrade to newer cable boxes.

What's more, on the eve of hurricane season, Bright House is warning it could lose The Weather Channel unless a new deal can be negotiated between them. Others channels such as Starz, Lifetime and BBC America could disappear, as well.

To be sure, some of this is the typical brinksmanship that happens between cable companies and TV producers, who each year ask for more money to carry their shows.

But other channels will change numbers or service "tiers" no matter what, as Bright House tinkers with its technology to shuffle channels around and opens up more space for other programs.

The Travel Channel and Bright House Sports Network will disappear from so-called "analog" cable service and appear only on digital packages beginning June 30.

Bright House has about 1 million customers in the Tampa Bay region, about 70 percent on digital systems versus analog.

Bright House Sports Network will remain on channel 47 but will expand to also appear on the lower-priced Basic level. The channel will also change frequency, a move that will affect customers who plug their cable directly into higher-end TVs. (They'll need to run a "rescan" to regain the channel. For help, see brighthouse.com/rescan.)

Other changes include Oxygen on Demand moving from channel 354 to 360, and MTV Tr3s changing its name to only Tr3s.

Bright House is also changing some network technology over time. For now, that will affect fans of Hallmark Channel HD and National Geographic Wild HD, some of whom will have to upgrade to newer, digital TV boxes. That can also affect customers who plug their cable directly into their TVs without a box.

Other channels are at risk of disappearing altogether. Each year, TV producers ask for more money for their shows, and cable TV companies resist. For now, Bright House is carrying a slew of channels on month-to-month contracts. Bright House is starting to formally notify customers in public advertisements about the risk of those negotiations breaking down.

Channels at risk: The Weather Channel, Encore, RetroPlex, Lifetime, E!, several Starz-related channels – all on month-to-month extensions. The contract for BBC America expires July 12.

Bright House officials say they're "working diligently" to work out terms that let the company keep providing the channels.

[Anistorm]

Hah, just saw your tweet and managed to make a topic about it. Dang, you beat me to it.

Anyways... yeah. I knew it was coming. Since the whole mess with Dish, I start to have a feeling another cable/satellite company would start with their negotiations with TWC. Let's hope they don't pull another one this time, (not that I don't want TWC to go away or anything).

[Zach]

Looks like my mind is changed.

Seeing that I'm from Tampa, I would have known that something like this was going to happen soon.

[TWCToday]

Does anyone really think any cable or satellite network would actually drop TWC? Its all a show to get attention.

[weathrlver]

IDK, with the way Paul Douglas has already stated through his blog(s) that he is "having discussions with other media companies" in his post mortem (http://tinyurl.com/33vk4wr) you would think that numerous other companies are going to at least bring their discussions with TWChannel out in the open and either force them into a deal and/or bring back TWCast (and yes, I think both channels could coexist -- look at how many freaking news and business channels we have!)

That's just my thought process.

[TWCToday]

IDK, with the way Paul Douglas has already stated through his blog(s) that he is "having discussions with other media companies" in his post mortem (http://tinyurl.com/33vk4wr) you would think that numerous other companies are going to at least bring their discussions with TWChannel out in the open and either force them into a deal and/or bring back TWCast (and yes, I think both channels could coexist -- look at how many freaking news and business channels we have!)

That's just my thought process.

TWC has a very limited focus as opposed to news channels. I don't think there could be any successful and profitable alternative Weather Channel considering TWC has had decades to build complex content delivery methods and  experience

[wxntrafficfan]

It's like Walmart... too big to fail or be replaced by something that can reach its level of success and prominence.

[Al]

how wonderful, here we go again...

[Eric]

You know, this is getting very old very quickly.  Cable network A wants more money from cable company B.  Occasionally, even broadcast network C will do the same thing.  The two of them squabble and haggle, pull the plug occasionally, and more often than not the channels are eventually restored, but sometimes they're not.

Unfortunately, I think this is only the beginning of a new trend, not just another "isolated incident."  There have been too many "isolated incidents" recently.

Audience behaviors are changing, the entire mass media environment is changing, but the industry itself is finding itself either wholly unwilling or wholly unable to keep up, and this is the kind of result we should learn to expect, sadly. 

[texasstooge]

You know, this is getting very old very quickly.  Cable network A wants more money from cable company B.  Occasionally, even broadcast network C will do the same thing.  The two of them squabble and haggle, pull the plug occasionally, and more often than not the channels are eventually restored, but sometimes they're not.

Unfortunately, I think this is only the beginning of a new trend, not just another "isolated incident."  There have been too many "isolated incidents" recently.

Audience behaviors are changing, the entire mass media environment is changing, but the industry itself is finding itself either wholly unwilling or wholly unable to keep up, and this is the kind of result we should learn to expect, sadly. 

That much I do agree. Time are tough. Cable networks don't need to make them any tougher for their viewers.

[wxntrafficfan]

I'm sure those of you who have Time Warner remember that massive dispute they had with Viacom back around New Year's 2008. I'm sure it will boil over, just wait.

[Zach]

I have yet to hear anything, but I think I heard my grandmother say that TWC is going into higher tiers on their lineups. Other than that, I have yet to hear anything.

I might start watching WFLA (NBC affiliate here) until something is said. TBO (partnered with WFLA) published another article the following day after the article posted here was published. http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/may/29/bz-bright-house-tweaks-cable-lineup/

[tpirfan28]

Higher tier != digital-only service in most cases.  TWC did kinda de facto go into a higher tier with the digital switch (analog expanded -> digital classic with analog and "digital basic" below it) but nothing radical.

Now TWC HD to a different tier is a different animal all together.

[Joe The Dragon]

at least they have most of the old analog in clear qam unlike comcast

[Trevor]

I'm confused with all of this "___________ to drop TWC?"