FOX Network Fighting with Time Warner Cable for Subscriber Fees

I didn't say they were forced. I said they were "almost" forced because people had to make a decision one way or the other. Get a conversion box or get cable. Cable picked up a lot of subscribers. At least where I live. Comcast picked up 20% of those homes that needed to become digital-ready. Verizon Fios picked up about 10%.

 

Of course, because of your constitutional right to watch Family Guy.

It's a TV network, private business. You're a consumer. Make a decision on your own for a change without the government patting you on the head.

 

I did some digging on this today, and here's what I learned: If your local Fox affiliate isn't owned by News Corp., you're not in any danger of losing it. Same goes for Fox Sports regional channels.

In my neck of the woods, for example, we'll still have WJW and Fox Sports Ohio.

 

The business model of TV changed drastically the moment ESPN realized it could force cable companies to pay a per-subscriber fee.

Most cable companies balked and removed ESPN from their lineups. The ensuing viewer revolt led to the cable companies caving.

From that moment forward, pro teams began creating their own networks, and virtually any event worth watching -- except, of course, the NFL -- was no longer on over-the-air TV.

I haven't had cable in 10 years.

Twenty years ago, I could reliably watch about 70 MLB games involving area teams, every one of the local NBA team's road games, three Big Ten football games every Saturday, all of the two major state universities' men's basketball games (plus a doubleheader of conference games every Saturday), about half of the bowl games, of course, the NFL all fall ... *all* on broadcast TV.

Ten years ago, other than the MLB games, all of those things were still available.

Now, the only sports we get on broadcast TV are a smattering of NBA & NHL games on ABC & NBC, the BCS bowls (which are going to cable next year), the MLB Game of the Week and some college football.

Everything else has migrated to ESPN or the Big Ten Network or a local Fox Sports channel, where the rightsholders can extort a few bucks a month from everyone in the area, whether they want it or not. The BCS is going to ESPN next year. It's possible the NCAA men's basketball tournament will also be migrating there before long.

And, predictably, the cost for cable has gone from $25 a month to $75-100 a month.

At that point, the over-the-air network broadcast is dead. When ESPN called the networks' bluff and won, that was the beginning of the end for sports on broadcast TV.

 

I'm just dyin' for a reason to dump my cable company.

 

Hitler vs. Stalin, Satan vs. Beelzebub, Darth Vader vs. the Borg, Lex Luthor vs. the Joker, etc etc etc.

 

Private business, using public airwaves. That's why the FCC regulates certain things, such as breasts popping out during Super Bowl halftime shows. FOX and Time-Warner are using airwaves that (supposedly) belong to the public, i.e, you and me.

Plus, I'd like to have the option of choosing what to watch. What FOX and Time Warner are doing is limiting my options.

 

Once it's on cable it's not the public airwaves. The public airwaves are not affected in the slightest here.

And if you have a remote, you have options. You don't get to program Fox on the network's behalf.

 

Fox is on the public airwaves. Their cable affiliates, like Fox Sports and Fox News, are not.

 

When will cable go ala carte so I can just pay for what I want?
Goodbye shopping and country music channels, hello sports and more sports.

 

Inly legislation will make them do this.

Cable companies fear they'll loose money and a number of channels would receive so few subscribers that they'd go out of business. But I'd love to see it too.

 

If you have a cable subscription, Fox is not on the public airwaves. If you have a digital converter box, it is...

I would love to see cable go to an a la carte menu, as well. Like YankeeFan said, it's not going to happen without government intervention. And the NCTA is a pretty powerful lobbying group.