New York Post
What began as an impasse yesterday became a full-fledged war between Time Warner Cable and News Corp.'s Fox, as both sides sought to position the other as responsible for the increasingly likely blackout of the broadcast network at midnight.
With just hours remaining before Fox could go dark on Time Warner cable systems, both camps dispensed with the pleasantries that came to define the negotiations of what many see as a precedent-setting retransmission agreement.
Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt fired the first shot yesterday in a letter to Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), offering to keep Fox on the air if the network agreed to submit to binding arbitration or another interim agreement. Britt was responding to a letter Kerry sent both companies last week in which the lawmaker suggested arbitration as a way to bridge the gap between the $1 per subscriber that Fox is asking for and what Time Warner is willing to pay for the network. (In addition to Fox, News Corp. also owns The Post.)
"We are willing to commence an arbitration proceeding immediately before the [Federal Communications Commission]," Britt wrote, adding that, "consumers should not be caught in the middle as broadcasters and video distributors work through these contentious issues."
Sources said Britt's letter was a shrewd negotiating tactic, as it put Fox in the position of having to choose between two unsavory options: Agree to binding arbitration, in which case Fox certainly wouldn't get the $1 per subscriber it's asking for, or blacking out the network, which not only would cost it money in the form of make-goods to advertisers, but may also put the network on the receiving end of viewer anger.
News Corp. Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey, in his own letter to Kerry, moved to neutralize such a public perception from forming while also dismissing the notion that arbitration was an acceptable alternative to a privately negotiated deal.
"When Congress enacted the 1992 Cable Act, it established a clear mechanism for programmers and distributors to reach market-based agreements on the basis of direct negotiations," Carey wrote. "We respectfully believe these discussions do not belong in the hands of a third party."
In a memo yesterday to Fox employees, Carey made clear that the company is prepared to wage this fight in order to get "fairly compensated" for its programming. "At this time, it looks like we will not reach an agreement and our channels may very well go off the air in Time Warner Cable systems," Carey wrote.
In both his letter to Kerry and to employees, Carey noted that Fox's $1 per subscriber request is equal to what Time Warner Cable pays for cable network TNT, which has lower ratings. If the network goes dark, Time Warner's 13 million subscribers will miss out on New Year's Day college football and NFL games.
With just hours remaining before Fox could go dark on Time Warner cable systems, both camps dispensed with the pleasantries that came to define the negotiations of what many see as a precedent-setting retransmission agreement.
Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt fired the first shot yesterday in a letter to Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), offering to keep Fox on the air if the network agreed to submit to binding arbitration or another interim agreement. Britt was responding to a letter Kerry sent both companies last week in which the lawmaker suggested arbitration as a way to bridge the gap between the $1 per subscriber that Fox is asking for and what Time Warner is willing to pay for the network. (In addition to Fox, News Corp. also owns The Post.)
"We are willing to commence an arbitration proceeding immediately before the [Federal Communications Commission]," Britt wrote, adding that, "consumers should not be caught in the middle as broadcasters and video distributors work through these contentious issues."
Sources said Britt's letter was a shrewd negotiating tactic, as it put Fox in the position of having to choose between two unsavory options: Agree to binding arbitration, in which case Fox certainly wouldn't get the $1 per subscriber it's asking for, or blacking out the network, which not only would cost it money in the form of make-goods to advertisers, but may also put the network on the receiving end of viewer anger.
News Corp. Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey, in his own letter to Kerry, moved to neutralize such a public perception from forming while also dismissing the notion that arbitration was an acceptable alternative to a privately negotiated deal.
"When Congress enacted the 1992 Cable Act, it established a clear mechanism for programmers and distributors to reach market-based agreements on the basis of direct negotiations," Carey wrote. "We respectfully believe these discussions do not belong in the hands of a third party."
In a memo yesterday to Fox employees, Carey made clear that the company is prepared to wage this fight in order to get "fairly compensated" for its programming. "At this time, it looks like we will not reach an agreement and our channels may very well go off the air in Time Warner Cable systems," Carey wrote.
In both his letter to Kerry and to employees, Carey noted that Fox's $1 per subscriber request is equal to what Time Warner Cable pays for cable network TNT, which has lower ratings. If the network goes dark, Time Warner's 13 million subscribers will miss out on New Year's Day college football and NFL games.
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