Cable One Drops Court TV
By Linda Moss -- Multichannel News, 4/8/2007 8:00:00 PM
In Court TV’s second such dispute this year, the network has been dropped by Cable One over the license-fee increase the programmer is seeking.
The Phoenix-based cable company took Court TV, now wholly owned by Turner Broadcasting System, off its lineup April 1. The cable operator’s carriage deal with Court TV expired March 31.
Unlike most cable companies, Cable One had offered Court TV as part of its digital package, not on expanded basic. Roughly 20% of Cable One’s 720,000 subscribers are digital customers, according to director of communications Melany Stroupe. That means Court TV had been in roughly 140,000 of the operator’s homes.
“It only affects a small percentage of our customers,” she said last week.
As a result of the dispute, Turner also told Cable One that it can no longer carry TNT HD, according to Stroupe.
“It was kind of an all-or-nothing deal,” she said. “We certainly want to keep TNT HD, but they pulled it.”
As to the situation with the operator, a Turner spokesperson said: “Despite prolonged discussions, we unfortunately could not reach an agreement with Cable One for continued carriage of Court TV and TNT in HD. As of April 1, these networks are no longer available to Cable One customers. We remain hopeful that we will reach a resolution, but in the meantime, these popular Turner networks are available via a number of providers.”
Earlier this year, EchoStar Communications’ Dish Network dropped Court TV briefly over the same issue as Cable One: a license-fee increase.
“It’s a contract dispute,” Stroupe said. “Court TV was asking for, when they were purchased by Turner, a 300% rate increase, which would make it twice as expensive as any of the other channels we carry on our digital tier. So we just couldn’t come to an agreement with them.”
Dish Network resumed carrying Court TV after about a month, but reinstated in on a less widely penetrated tier.
Cable One added two new digital channels, GSN and WE, just over a month ago, Stroupe said. But the cable company would like to find a specific replacement for Court TV, she added.
“We want to continue looking for a replacement, if it’s possible,” Stroupe said. Cable One was replacing TNT HD with ESPN2 HD, she added.
There have been some calls about Court TV’s absence, “but it really hasn’t been overwhelming,” according to Stroupe.
“Turner is our partner, and we certainly don’t want to get into an ugly war with them,” she said. “We still carry a majority of their products. We still value them as a business partner.”
But Stroupe doesn’t expect the dispute with Court TV to be resolved.
“We can’t seem to come to an agreement or middle ground, so we’re not hopeful,” she said.
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I am very very dissapointed that Courtv has changed!! I have watched since OJ days and have never been as faithful to any show before Courtv. I love Ricky Kleeman but she is gone mostly too. Nancy is who I watched EVERY day. I agree that she sometimes gets a little demanding but she says it like it is. I love all of the others especially Beth and Jean!!! Please don't disrupt this program!!!! Where will everybody go??? NO NO NO a thousand times nO!!!! If it ain't broke, don't fix it...
Pauline Stangeland - 6/21/2007 5:01:00 PM EDT -
Court TV, like MSNBC/GE, operated on a double standard until Court TV dropped Crier. GE/MSNBC are the masters of double standards. Jessie Jackson blackmailed GE into firing Don Imus and blakmailed GE into not firing Al Roker for horrifying statements made against children with epilepsy. The Rev. Jessie Jackson also made some promises and some comments during the Duke Lacrosse lynching that he hasn't kept (nor does he have an inclination of keeping). John Ridley of MSNBC News has been trying to get a response from Jessie Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition on when they are going to make good (they are already 2 months overdue) on these promises. The Rainbow Coalition is refusing to respond. They are stuffing the e-mailbox that Mr. Ridley was told to use so that it will reject his e-mail. This is an old Al Sharpton tactic that Rev. Sharpton uses when he does something horrible ("sorry Al's e-mail box is full"). GE officers Capus and Abrams are now up against it again (they fired Don Imus on Al Roker's orders but protected Al Roker), and I think, if they fight this story, or if they fight John Ridley in his quest for answers, people should boycott GE on every level. Its one thing to hide Al Roker, who, if held to his own standard, should have been fired long ago. GE is going to be under considerabl pressure from Tim Russert and others to protect Jackson (and subsequently protect his friend Obama, who also called for Imus firinng while supporting Roker).
Tom Calli - 6/21/2007 1:16:00 PM EDT -
Cable one add video game channel,dump wc,soap channel,when will free showtime weekend be.have 1 only info channel,get rid of the pin channel.need new channels or get wgn channelor some other extras,we need to bunch movie channels,video channels,local channels,package it better,maybe a diffrent contry channels,or wwe 24/7 channel,some good,some bad,no other complaints, i like your company,get contract done with time warner,court tv needed.
jeremyromero - 6/18/2007 6:11:00 PM EDT
Gavel Comes Down on Court TV
07/15/2007Court TV to Become truTV
07/11/2007Cable One Drops Court TV
04/03/2007I Just Don't Get It!
04/27/2008Court TV Returns to Dish Network
02/09/2007
