Scripps Pulls HGTV, Food Network From Cablevision's Menu
Affects 3 Million Subscribers In NY, NJ, Conn.
Mike Farrell -- Multichannel News, 1/1/2010 12:47:21 AM
While the battle between Fox Broadcasting and Time Warner Cable appeared to wage on as the new decade rang in, Scripps Networks Interactive said it has pulled its popular Food Network and HGTV channels from more than 3 million Cablevision Systems subscribers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
In a statement issued at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1, Scripps said the channels "went off the air on Cablevision systems in New York City, Long Island and the Tri-State Region at midnight New Year's Eve after the cable operator failed to negotiate acceptable rates for the programming distribution rights."
On Cablevision Systems in New Jersey, the MSO is running this message on both HGTV and Food: "We wanted to keep bringing you these channels. We apologize for the inconvenience. For more visit www.cablevision.com/scripps. Why? Cablevision has tried to reach a fair agreement."
A similar message was running on Cablevision's system reaching Westchester County, New York.
Food Network's Guy FieriScripps has been reportedly seeking significant increases in carriage fees for Food, which according to SNL Kagan was receiving on average about 9 cents per subscriber per month. The higher rated HGTV was receiving about 12 cents per month, according to SNL Kagan. At the UBS Global Media and Communications conference last month, Scripps Networks chairman and CEO Ken Lowe had said the programmer would seek substantial increases for Food Network.
In a statement, Lowe said that Scripps is enlisting the help of viewers to pressure the MSO to carry the network, encouraging them to log onto www.iloveFOODNETWORK.com and www.iloveHGTV.com for information on how to demand Cablevision put the networks back on the air.
"Viewers love our talent and our shows, which is why Food Network and HGTV rank among the top networks in cable," Lowe said in a statement. "But our valuable networks simply are not being compensated like top ten networks by Cablevision. The distribution rates Cablevision pays for Food and HGTV are among the lowest in the industry."
For its part, Cablevision said in a statement that it is disappointed it could not reach an agreement with Scripps, but will not bow to pressure.
"Unfortunately, Scripps has decided to stop distributing HGTV and Food Network to Cablevision customers upon the expiration of our current agreement at midnight, Dec. 31," Cablevision said in a statement. "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. We wish Scripps well and have no expectation of carrying their programming again, given the dramatic changes in their approach to working with distributors to reach television viewers."
While Scripps has not revealed how much of an increase it is requesting, the programmer said it is currently receiving less than 25 cents per subscriber per month from Cablevision for both channels. The company added that a recent Beta Cable Subscriber study said the average cable customer believes Food Network is worth $1.03 per month and HGTV is worth 73 cents per month. Scripps added that is considerably more than Cablevision is paying and more than SNI is asking on behalf of the networks in current negotiations.
"The rates we are seeking represent a very modest increase when you consider that Food Network and HGTV are among the top networks in all of cable," said SNI executive vice president John Lansing in a statement. "Even with the rate reset we've proposed, about 35 other networks will be receiving higher fees per subscriber than these viewer favorites."
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Which other stations these shows will be on. I agree with Laurie Z. I will cancel my cable service and go without.
Deborah W. - 1/1/2010 4:53:05 PM EST -
which servie will carry these stations...i will cancel cablevision...you can carry all that mtv reality SH!
laurie zuaro - 1/1/2010 2:27:52 AM EST
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