The Wall Street Journal
Cablevision Systems Corp., attempting to end a TV-station blackout over a contract dispute, proposed paying News Corp. the same rate that Time Warner Cable Inc. pays the media giant for local Fox affiliates in New York and Philadelphia.
News Corp., which owns Fox television networks, rejected the offer, calling it "yet another in a long line of publicity stunts" by Cablevision.
The programming blackout, now in its 12th day, is threatening to deprive 3 million households in the New York Metropolitan region of the World Series Wednesday night—a prospect that would lead to more public outcry against both companies.
In a news release, Cablevision said that for one year it would pay the rate Fox charges Time Warner Cable for carrying the local affiliates in New York and Philadelphia.
"This is higher than the rate we pay any other New York broadcast station," Cablevision said. "This solution is in the best interest of not only baseball fans but of all Cablevision customers and Fox viewers."
News Corp. said it remains committed to negotiating a fair deal, but Cablevision's "incomplete proposal is not acceptable." The media giant added that "Cablevision is seeking a discounted 'package rate' without buying the entire package."
News Corp. said it is willing to negotiate a deal "based on an entire suite of channels" under the terms it reached with Time Warner Cable and other providers, or a stand-alone agreement for three local broadcast Fox affiliates.
The blackout for Cablevision customers included the main Fox station in the New York area, as well as a smaller station, the Fox station in Philadelphia and other cable networks owned by News Corp., such as Nat Geo Wild and Fox Deportes, a Spanish-language sports service. Fox News is unaffected because it is part of a separate contract.
Cablevision responded to Fox's rejection by renewing its plea for intervention by the Federal Communications Commission.
"It is now clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that News Corp. is operating in bad faith," Cablevision spokesman Charles Schueler said. "We call on the FCC to intervene immediately to restore the Fox signals to Cablevision's 3 million homes and order News Corp. to agree to binding arbitration to resolve this conflict."
Cablevision has said it already pays News Corp. more than $70 million a year for its channels and that News Corp. is demanding more than $150 million a year for the same programming--a claim that News Corp. said is "simply not true."
Cablevision also has said it has agreements with every other major broadcast station, including CBS, NBC, ABC and Univision, but News Corp. is asking for more in fees for the two New York stations—FOX 5 and My9—than Cablevision pays for all of the other broadcast stations combined.
By offering to match the rate paid by Time Warner Cable, which reached a multiyear agreement with News Corp. early this year in a dispute that avoided programming blackouts, Cablevision appears to be moving off its previous negotiating stance. Still, the extent of any concessions is unclear, because most major distribution deals between media companies and distributors like this run for several years and include guaranteed fee increases over time among other provisions.
A Time Warner Cable spokesman declined to comment on that company's deal with News Corp. and the value of Cablevision's offer.
News Corp. is believed to be under pressure to reach a deal with Cablevision on at least the same terms as the one with Time Warner Cable. If it is unable to do so, News Corp. likely would have to make concessions to Time Warner Cable, based on that deal's terms.
Last year, Cablevision delayed by one year a contract negotiation with News Corp. for its Fox stations that could have affected broadcasts of a World Series eventually won the New York Yankees, a home team in Cablevision's main market. The delay allowed Time Warner Cable to negotiate its deal with News Corp. first, setting a new standard for payments for its broadcast signals. This year, the Yankees didn't make the World Series, taking some pressure off Cablevision.
The resulting dispute has left about 3 million homes, largely in the New York area, without access to their local Fox affiliate and major sports events, such as National Football League games and Major League Baseball's National League Championship Series last week. Fox is broadcasting the first game of the World Series between the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.
News Corp., which owns Fox television networks, rejected the offer, calling it "yet another in a long line of publicity stunts" by Cablevision.
The programming blackout, now in its 12th day, is threatening to deprive 3 million households in the New York Metropolitan region of the World Series Wednesday night—a prospect that would lead to more public outcry against both companies.
In a news release, Cablevision said that for one year it would pay the rate Fox charges Time Warner Cable for carrying the local affiliates in New York and Philadelphia.
"This is higher than the rate we pay any other New York broadcast station," Cablevision said. "This solution is in the best interest of not only baseball fans but of all Cablevision customers and Fox viewers."
News Corp. said it remains committed to negotiating a fair deal, but Cablevision's "incomplete proposal is not acceptable." The media giant added that "Cablevision is seeking a discounted 'package rate' without buying the entire package."
News Corp. said it is willing to negotiate a deal "based on an entire suite of channels" under the terms it reached with Time Warner Cable and other providers, or a stand-alone agreement for three local broadcast Fox affiliates.
The blackout for Cablevision customers included the main Fox station in the New York area, as well as a smaller station, the Fox station in Philadelphia and other cable networks owned by News Corp., such as Nat Geo Wild and Fox Deportes, a Spanish-language sports service. Fox News is unaffected because it is part of a separate contract.
Cablevision responded to Fox's rejection by renewing its plea for intervention by the Federal Communications Commission.
"It is now clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that News Corp. is operating in bad faith," Cablevision spokesman Charles Schueler said. "We call on the FCC to intervene immediately to restore the Fox signals to Cablevision's 3 million homes and order News Corp. to agree to binding arbitration to resolve this conflict."
Cablevision has said it already pays News Corp. more than $70 million a year for its channels and that News Corp. is demanding more than $150 million a year for the same programming--a claim that News Corp. said is "simply not true."
Cablevision also has said it has agreements with every other major broadcast station, including CBS, NBC, ABC and Univision, but News Corp. is asking for more in fees for the two New York stations—FOX 5 and My9—than Cablevision pays for all of the other broadcast stations combined.
By offering to match the rate paid by Time Warner Cable, which reached a multiyear agreement with News Corp. early this year in a dispute that avoided programming blackouts, Cablevision appears to be moving off its previous negotiating stance. Still, the extent of any concessions is unclear, because most major distribution deals between media companies and distributors like this run for several years and include guaranteed fee increases over time among other provisions.
A Time Warner Cable spokesman declined to comment on that company's deal with News Corp. and the value of Cablevision's offer.
News Corp. is believed to be under pressure to reach a deal with Cablevision on at least the same terms as the one with Time Warner Cable. If it is unable to do so, News Corp. likely would have to make concessions to Time Warner Cable, based on that deal's terms.
Last year, Cablevision delayed by one year a contract negotiation with News Corp. for its Fox stations that could have affected broadcasts of a World Series eventually won the New York Yankees, a home team in Cablevision's main market. The delay allowed Time Warner Cable to negotiate its deal with News Corp. first, setting a new standard for payments for its broadcast signals. This year, the Yankees didn't make the World Series, taking some pressure off Cablevision.
The resulting dispute has left about 3 million homes, largely in the New York area, without access to their local Fox affiliate and major sports events, such as National Football League games and Major League Baseball's National League Championship Series last week. Fox is broadcasting the first game of the World Series between the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.
