Scripps To Broadcast 'Iron Chef,' 'Dream Home' Episodes In New York
'Iron Chef America: Super Chef Battle' To Air Sunday On WPIX, WTXX
Mike Farrell -- Multichannel News, 1/6/2010 1:02:15 PM
Iron Chef: Super Chef Battlering to broadcast selected Food Network programs over the air in the New York City market this weekend.
Scripps pulled its Food Network and HGTV channels from Cablevision Systems at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1 after it could not reach a carriage agreement with the MSO. The two have been embroiled in an escalating battle of words ever since.
In a statement, Scripps said Iron Chef America: Super Chef Battle, which features an appearance by First Lady Michelle Obama (the participants are cooking with vegetables from the White House garden), will air on broadcast stations WPIX in New York City and WTXX in Hartford, Conn., on Sunday Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. HGTV's HGTV Dream Home Tour 2010 will air on WPIX on Jan. 8 at 3 p.m.
WPIX and WTXX are owned by Tribune Broadcasting, which also owns a minority interest in the Food Network.
"Nobody likes the situation, with Cablevision customers being the only viewers in the country who can't watch our networks as we introduce a number of new special and series in January," Food Network president Brooke Johnson said in a statement. "These encore presentations are just a small way to say ‘thank you' for their support and understanding while we do everything we can to get our networks back on Cablevision."
The Super Chef Battle special originally aired on Food Network on Jan. 3 and was the most-watched program in Iron Chef franchise history, with 7.6 million viewers watching at least part of the show.
HGTV Dream Home 2010 is part of a $2 million grand-prize package that includes a 2010 GMC Terrain and $500,000 that will be awarded to one lucky viewer in March.
In a statement, Cablevision said the special airings are another ploy to divert attention from the real issue.
"If Scripps wanted people in this market to see Iron Chef they shouldn't have irresponsibly yanked their programming off Cablevision and held their own viewers hostage in pursuit of a $20 million annual rate increase," Cablevision said in a statement. "They should put their channels back on Cablevision while we negotiate an agreement that is fair for everyone."
Cablevision argues that Scripps is asking for an exorbitant fee increase -- essentially trebling the charge for the networks. Scripps has countered that it is requesting a higher rate for Food -- which has had a significant ratings increase over the years -- but a standard rate hike for HGTV, which went through its own rate reset a few years ago.
That could mean that Scripps is seeking about 24 cents per subscriber per month for Food (three times its current rate of 8 cents, according to SNL Kagan) and 15 cents to 20 cents a month for HGTV (a boost from its current 13 cents rate, according to Kagan).
Cablevison has repeatedly claimed that Scripps is demanding a 200% increase for both networks, amounting to a $20 million hike in the annual rate for both channels.
Scripps Networks spokeswoman Cindy McConkey would not comment on rate negotiations, but said that even with the rate increase, 30 to 35 networks are still higher-priced that the Scripps channels. Before the rate increase, about 70 channels were priced higher.
McConkey added that Scripps has repeatedly requested to restart negotiations with Cablevision but has been rebuffed.
"Basically we are asking them to negotiate productively," McConkey said. "They are replying with a take-it-or-leave-it offer that is at a deeply discounted rate, which would be unfair for us to accept, considering that the other cable and satellite operators are paying a fair market rate."
McConkey said that Scripps has reached new deals for Food and HGTV at the new rates with distributors, but declined to identify them.
According to cable executives familiar with the negotiations, Scripps has reached an agreement with the National Cable and Telecommunications Cooperative (which represents about 23 million subscribers, including Cablevision) at a higher rate and is in the final stages of a deal with Time Warner Cable. While Cablevision could accept the NCTC deal (it joined last year to take advantage of the co-op's agreement with the Tennis Channel ), it is free to negotiate its own agreement.
NCTC spokesman Dan Mulvenon said the coop would have no comment, "due to confidentiality restrictions."
Cablevision would not comment on the co-op or Scripps's assessment of the negotiations, but said that it is merely seeking a reasonable rate adjustment.
"Scripps Networks pulled its channels off Cablevision, we didn't," Cablevision said in a statement. "We have called upon Scripps Networks to put the channels back on and negotiate, but they have refused. Scripps wants a $20 million rate increase, from Cablevision and our customers, that's not 'pennies.' as they claim. The channels where HGTV and Food Network appeared on Cablevision remain available, and if Scripps really cared about their viewers they would put their programming back on and negotiate a new agreement. We believe it was irresponsible for Scripps to take the channels off, and it is irresponsible for them not to put the channels back on."
Cablevision stepped up the fight with Scripps on its own turf, calling out Scripps Networks chairman and CEO Ken Lowe in its message to viewers on its systems.
"Removing these channels was Ken Lowe's decision, not Cablevision's," the spot said. "It's a blatant attempt to hold viewers hostage while they demand a $20 million rate increase for Food Network and HGTV."
The full spot can be seen on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SziXWNHJ91c .
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