As they've been warning for days, KXAN has disappeared from Time Warner Cable in Austin, just as it did from Suddenlink early this year. KXAN has for days been repeatedly showing dire warnings about Time Warner pulling KXAN's signal. Quite honestly, it was incredibly annoying after a while. ("You'll never see Wheel of Fortune again! The horror!" [this may be a paraphrase])
The truth is, KXAN is well within its rights to demand that Time Warner carry their signal. It's called the must-carry regulation. But, stations don't have to use the must-carry clause if they want to negotiate a retransmission agreement, wherein a station is paid in cash or other consideration by the cable provider to carry the signal.
Dish Network, DirecTV, and Grande all have a retransmission agreement with KXAN, as KXAN is all too eager to point out*. Why? Because most people in Austin have Time Warner. Would you switch to another provider if a major network wasn't available? Neither would I.
So, having been successful in rattling their saber with Suddenlink, KXAN apparently figured the same tactic would work with Time Warner. But, particularly for those of us who have downgraded all the way to basic cable, there is no other provider in town who touches the price we pay for the channels we get.** KXAN is shooting itself in the foot in this so-called negotiating tactic. As a reminder: November sweeps are coming soon--the period stations use to set advertising rates. KXAN needs Time Warner to be retransmitting them by then, so my guess is they'll cave in about three weeks.
*Well, they were eager to point this out until they pulled their signal. Now their website doesn't even mention Time Warner.
**This does not, of course, excuse the rather lousy service Time Warner provides as well, and it especially does not excuse the fact that Time Warner is raising basic cable rates another $5 within a couple of months. That'll make it more palatable for people to look into other providers, you guys...
Update: As mentioned in the comments, the real culprit here is KXAN's owner, LIN TV. Apparently only the bottom line matters to LIN TV, instead of, you know, providing a quality product. (This appears to be the same reasoning they used in lowballing Michelle Valles. She wasn't perfect, but she deserved better than she got. I wouldn't be surprised to see her sitting beside Tyler Sieswerda in about six months.)
Update 2: Hi KXAN! How's it working out for you so far?
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6 comments:
It's not KXAN, it's LIN TV that's to blame. LIN TV owns many local broadcasters across the country, KXAN being one of them. And most of these local broadcasters are all pulling from TWC. They have no choice. It's a decision by the corporate guys at LIN, so the local guys have to do as the big boss says.
Sorry, you're right...I was considering the two terms interchangeably. LIN TV is the one pulling the strings here.
I place the blame 1000% on KXAN, and am upset that nobody in the print media is bothering to point out that TW is getting paid for running the wire that prevents me having to fumble around with an antenna, NOT simply as a middleman for the signal. The signal is worth $0.00 on the open market; what's worth money is bringing it straight to my TV and in a way that allows me to have somebody else fix it when it breaks.
Actually, in terms of pricing, Grande charges $14.95 for broadcast basic versus Time Warner's $19.95 rate. Exact same channel lineups. Plus Grande will take an additional 20% off when you bundle with phone & data.
The former "Big 3" commercial television networks are dinosaurs. Let them all die.
I think this entire conflict is only going to cost KXAN viewers. Their news products suck. Michelle was smart to get out.
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