Verizon Fios has created Facebook advertising trying to catch people switching from Cablevision! This was started when Cablevision subscribers turned on their televisions on New Year's Day and found that they had no Food Network or HGTV.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Cablevision Underestimating Viewers of Food Network & HGTV
Cablevision underestimated the anger and disappointment about Cable Subscribers losing HGTV and Food Network for the start of 2010. In less than 24 hours more than 120,000 viewers called into Cablevision in addition to the 35,000 e-cards were sent out according to Scripps Network. This caused Cablevision to frantically create commercials about the current situation and is trying to put the blame on Scripps.
This is Cablevision's offical response on their website
Cablevision's contract to carry HGTV and Food Network expired on December 31, 2009. Unfortunately, Scripps chose to remove the channels from Cablevision's system after we did not accept their demands.
This has largely been ineffective from what I can see as people have taken to the internet to create Facebook groups, Youtube videos and other social media outlets to display their displeasure. I believe Cablevision does indeed want HGTV and Food Network back and does indeed want to try and save consumers money the increased cost.
There is no question that this incident shows the arrogance at Cablevision. How do you not alert customers about this before waking up on January 1st given the popularity of these shows? Regardless of whether or not Scripps pulled their shows or not. All of the rhetoric that that this Scripps fault is not going to help Cablevision. This is because The monthly cable bill does not come from Scripps; It is from Cablevision! This is why Cablevision needed to be on the offense on this issue and how they are going to correct it. Instead, Cable offered the "Lame" reaction that is to be expected and put the blame somewhere else.
Cablevision needs to lose their arrogance because there is competition on Long Island regarding Cable Providers such as Verizon, Dish Network, and Direct TV. If they fail to sign these two stations shortly or lower the bill because they are not providing all the stations that should be provided and continues the "Blame Game." A lot of people will be leaving Cablevision!!!
CinemaBlend.com Article
While Time Warner subscribers are still waiting to learn whether or not they’re going to be watchingAmerican Idol this year, Cablevision subscribers found themselves without The Food Network and HGTV today.
Happy New Year, TV watchers! If you’re among the 3.1 million Cablevision subscribers out there, you may have already noticed that you no longer get The Food Network or HGTV. Both channels, owned by Scripps, were deauthorized by the company as of last night (December 31st) at midnight, due to the company and Cablebvisions inability to come to an agreement in a dispute similar to what Fox and Time Warner are going through. This, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"The distribution rates Cablevision pays for Food and HGTV are among the lowest in the industry," said Scripps Chief Executive Kenneth Lowe.
Considering the growing popularity of The Food Network, it’s likely that there will be plenty of Food Network fans (and HGTV fans) out there who are disappointed about losing the channels. If you’re among them, before you start shopping around for other providers,Ilovefoodnetwork.com is running a call-in/ecard campaign to get cablevision to keep The Food Network and HGTV. Fans can send in ecards or call in and hopefully cablevision will work something out with Scripps to get the channels back.
As for Time Warner subscribers, Fox ended up extending the deadline on Time Warner’s decision and there hasn’t been word on whether the cable company and the network have worked things out yet.
I’m having a hard time knowing what to think about all of this, to be honest. On one hand, as a fan of Fox’s shows as well as The Food Network’s, I think they deserve a fair fee for what they offer to the cable companies’ subscribers. On the other hand, I fear that these negotiations will result in the cable company’s charging subscribers more money to compensate for whatever increase the networks are demanding. Given what I already pay for my cable service, the idea of shelling out even more money isn’t exactly appealing.
Happy New Year, TV watchers! If you’re among the 3.1 million Cablevision subscribers out there, you may have already noticed that you no longer get The Food Network or HGTV. Both channels, owned by Scripps, were deauthorized by the company as of last night (December 31st) at midnight, due to the company and Cablebvisions inability to come to an agreement in a dispute similar to what Fox and Time Warner are going through. This, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"The distribution rates Cablevision pays for Food and HGTV are among the lowest in the industry," said Scripps Chief Executive Kenneth Lowe.
Considering the growing popularity of The Food Network, it’s likely that there will be plenty of Food Network fans (and HGTV fans) out there who are disappointed about losing the channels. If you’re among them, before you start shopping around for other providers,Ilovefoodnetwork.com is running a call-in/ecard campaign to get cablevision to keep The Food Network and HGTV. Fans can send in ecards or call in and hopefully cablevision will work something out with Scripps to get the channels back.
As for Time Warner subscribers, Fox ended up extending the deadline on Time Warner’s decision and there hasn’t been word on whether the cable company and the network have worked things out yet.
I’m having a hard time knowing what to think about all of this, to be honest. On one hand, as a fan of Fox’s shows as well as The Food Network’s, I think they deserve a fair fee for what they offer to the cable companies’ subscribers. On the other hand, I fear that these negotiations will result in the cable company’s charging subscribers more money to compensate for whatever increase the networks are demanding. Given what I already pay for my cable service, the idea of shelling out even more money isn’t exactly appealing.
What can Cablevision Customers Do?!?
There are several ways to make your voice heard about the removal of HGTV and Food Network.
1. You can visit ilovefoodnetwork.com or ilovehgtv.com to express their outrage and disappointment or call 1.866.695.BEST).
2. You can e-mail CEO of Cablevision James Dolan at JDolan@Cablevision.com or
John Bickham - President of Cable & Communications - johnbickham@cablevision.com
3. FIND OUT WHAT Verizon FIOS, Direct TV and Dish Network IS OFFERING - Most of Cablevision's profits come from Cable, Internet, and Telephone Subscribers. The best way to express displeasure is to switch. You know Cablevision through their Customer Retention will pay any fee's if you did want to switch back to Cable at a later time or try to have you stay because you will be losing your Optimum Reward Benefits.
Brook Johnson Food Network President says Cablevision Taking Hard Line on Scripps
Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Brooke Johnson, president of the Scripps Networks Inc.'s Food Network channel, talks with Bloomberg's Carol Massar and Matt Miller about the outlook for fee negotiations between Scripps Networks and Cablevision Systems Corp. Scripps Networks, based in Cincinnati, pulled the Food Network and HGTV from about 3.1 million Cablevision customers on Jan. 1 after the two sides failed to reach a resolution on payments for the channels. (Source: Bloomberg)
NEW YORK POST ARTICLE
HGTV & Food go black on Cablevision
Last Updated: 9:40 AM, January 2, 2010
Posted: 2:01 AM, January 2, 2010
Cablevision customers tuning in to the Food Network or HGTV yesterday were greeted with an apology.The stations were yanked from the cable lineup as a result of a fee dispute with Scripps Networks. The outage affected 3.1 million subscribers in the metropolitan area.
Cablevision broadcast a message explaining the dispute, and company officials indicated there was no immediate plan to restore the stations.n response, Scripps launched online efforts to rally viewers to lobby the cable company."Cablevision Customers: We hear you & we're disappointed too! Click to see what u can do 2 get HGTV back on Cablevision," the network posted onTwitter.
"We recently switched back to Cablevision from [Verizon] Fios. I would never have done that if my 2 favorite channels were not included," Judy Kudysch Kule posted. "Looks like we will be going back to Fios if this is not resolved very quickly."A Facebook group dubbed "We Want The Food Network and HGTV back on Cablevision -- NOW!" urged users to e-mail Cablevision chief James Dolan.Time Warner Cable continued to carry both networks under a temporary extension.
Article from Long Island Press
Cablevision Systems Corp. said early Friday that it had failed to reach a deal to continue carrying HGTV and Food Network for its 3.1 million subscribers in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
(PRNewsFoto/Scripps Networks)The Bethpage-based cable company added that it had no expectation of carrying the signals again. The channels are owned by Cincinnati-based Scripps Networks Interactive Inc., which launched a publicity campaign to pressure Cablevision to continue negotiating.
Food Network and HGTV combined receive less than 25 cents per subscriber under the contact that expired at midnight on Dec. 31, Scripps said. Although details of the negotiations were not released, the network cited a cable subscriber study that suggested the Food Network is worth slightly more than $1 per month and HGTV is valued at 73 cents per month.
“It’s very disappointing that Cablevision refuses to recognize the value that its own subscribers place on Food Network and HGTV, so we’re creating a forum for those viewers to make their voices heard,” John Lansing, executive vice president of Scripps Networks Interactive, said in a statement.
More than 120,000 calls came into the call center and 35,000 e-cards have been sent to Cablevision from viewers logging on to ilovefoodnetwork.com orilovehgtv.com to express their outrage and disappointment, Scripps said Friday.
“When you consider how popular Food Network and HGTV are, you have to wonder if Cablevision has lost touch with what matters most to its customers,” Lansing said.
Cablevision cited a “dramatic changes in [Scripps] approach” during negotiations as the reason for the impasse. “We are sorry that Scripps’ current financial difficulties are making it impossible for them to continue our relationship on terms that are reasonable for Cablevision and our customers.”
Brooke Johnson, president of Food Network, said Scripps uses fees it receives from cable and satellite companies in developing new shows.
“It’s hard to maintain delivery of programming that viewers rate among their favorite shows when we’re getting short changed – and I mean significantly underpaid in the case of Cablevision – when compared to what this cable company is paying other, comparable networks for programming,” Johnson said in a statement.
HGTV said its holding out hope that the breakdown negotiations would be resolved. “Historically, our relationship with distributors has been positive and mutually beneficial,” Jim Samples, president of HGTV, said in a statement. “We want nothing more than to reach an agreement, one that recognizes the value our networks.”
Food Network, which has shows such as Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, Ace of Cakes and Next Food Network Star, posted the highest-rated primetime in its history this year with a 19 percent increase over year-ago levels and saw a 10 percent increase in total viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Likewise, HGTV averaged 1.2 million viewers in primetime, an increase of 9 percent over 2008, led by programs like House Hunters, House Hunters International and Divine Design.
Both networks have been on the air for 16 years. Neither has ever been off the air because of a contract dispute with a distributor, Scripps sai
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