The latest FCC report has found that the average subscriber pays more than $200 per year for so-called ‘free’ broadcast television, representing an increase of more than 20% over the previous year.
Fox Networks Group threatened to black out 26 local broadcast stations across 16 major media markets as a bargaining ploy to increase its retransmission consent rates and other licensing fees.
Satellite television provider DIRECTV accused Nexstar Media Group, the nation’s largest operator of local TV channels, of fixing prices with competitors, causing transmission fees to spike and forcing providers to raise bills for customers.
fuboTV added Disney-owned channels like ESPN, Disney Channel, and ABC...and decided let go of Turner Networks.
Individual networks continue to increase the monthly carriage fees they charge MVPDs for access to their content, which is in turn passed along to consumers. The most expensive basic cable channels are rarely viewed by a majority of subscribers.
2020 was another record year for blackouts, as 336 broadcast stations went dark to pay TV customers vs. 278 in the prior year, according to industry group the American Television Alliance. In a statement, ATVA said the broadcast industry's use of blackouts as a negotiating tool, especially during a pandemic, was outrageous and reiterated its call for regulatory reform.
For the last decade or so, U.S. cable TV customers have been plagued by a steady parade of content blackouts as cable providers and broadcasters bicker over new programming contracts. This being Sinclair’s particular brand of highly partisan, homogenized disinfotainment, many won’t care that they lose access to these networks. Sinclair obviously cares, given that fuboTV, YouTube TV, and SlingTV (Dish Network) removed the company’s costly regional sports channels last year from their own streaming lineups, contributing to a $4.18 billion loss for Sinclair in the third quarter.
The reason so many channels are forced on consumers is simple—most cable networks are owned by the major media conglomerates who force cable and satellite operators to take their whole bundle of channels or get none at all. Anyone who wants to carry ESPN, for instance, must carry a broad swath of channels such as ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU and more obscure channels like Disney Junior, FreeForm and Nat Geo WILD.
Last year there we a number of carriage disputes between YouTube TV and several broadcasters. In September, the Google-owned streaming platform brawled with NBCUniversal, and it found itself in a spat with Disney a few month later. YouTube TV isn't the platform to butt heads with broadcasters. Roku, DirecTV, and just about every legacy cable company have found themselves in similar predicaments.
A dispute between satellite TV provider Dish and media company Tegna has resulted in the removal of TV stations in more than 50 U.S. markets. Tegna had begun alerting Dish subscribers earlier in the week they could lose access to local stations at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday because the two companies could not reach a new carriage agreement for its station.
Comcast on October 1 lost both MSG and MSG+ due to a carriage dispute with their owner, MSG Networks. The blackout means that Comcast residents in New Jersey and Connecticut can not watch MSG’s broadcasts of New York Knicks, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers and New York Islanders games.
