Austin KXAN

[TheWizard]

I didn't think that it would actually go off the air.  So now if I have TW cable, I have to watch NBC online?  I'm ignorant in all these shenanigans, who is evil?  The cable company, the channel, both, neither?

How will I watch my Notre Dame football now?!?!

[loganck]

They blame each other.  All the other cable companies were able to come to an agreement, so I choose to be pissed at TW.  I'm sure they'll eventually come to an agreement, and then TW will charge us more than they have to to make up the difference.

[Savage]

I didn't think that it would actually go off the air.  So now if I have TW cable, I have to watch NBC online?  I'm ignorant in all these shenanigans, who is evil?  The cable company, the channel, both, neither?

How will I watch my Notre Dame football now?!?!

Get DirecTV.

[chuck]

Quit watching Notre Dame football. Problem solved.

[remy]

I hate TWC but it seems to me that LIN/KXAN is to blame on this one.

re: Savage's post, Dish Network is very good too.

[Lurch]

LIN (KXAN) has been playing this game for years.  They pulled this stunt last with KXAN after years of refusing to allow them to rebroadcast their HD feed.  They pulled the plug entirely and waited for Suddenlink to fold.  Suddenlinks response?  They went and signed an agreement with the Temple/Waco NBC station and welcomed their customers to HD NBC.  It was beautiful.  Within a few months KXAN (and HD) was on Suddenlink.

[TheWizard]

Quit watching Notre Dame football. Problem solved.

Yeah, that part was a joke lost in the internet.

[Desperado]

The Office is one of the very few shows on TV I regularly watch. How long until they work something out?

[Waldo]

The Office is one of the very few shows on TV I regularly watch. How long until they work something out?

However long it takes for KXAN to start missing the ad revenue.

[I'm Richies Dad]

Doesn't KXAN get ad venue based on the folks that watch.  If I am an advertiser I drop KXAN because If I have TWC too, I am thinking I am not gonna break out the rabbit ears or watch it on my laptop, I just will watch something else.  It has to be costing them money.

[Limey]

The Office is one of the very few shows on TV I regularly watch. How long until they work something out?

You can get episodes through iTunes at two bucks a pop.  That sucks, but it's a work-around until the situation gets fixed.

[Waldo]

You can get episodes through iTunes at two bucks a pop.  That sucks, but it's a work-around until the situation gets fixed.

Why buy them on iTunes when you can watch for free on NBC.com?

[Limey]

Why buy them on iTunes when you can watch for free on NBC.com?

Didn't know that.  Better option (unless you want to keep the episodes).

[JackAstro]

Didn't know that.  Better option (unless you want to keep the episodes).

Torrents. Sweet, sweet torrents.

[gleach]

You can also watch them at Hulu.com, along with hundreds of other shows.  I may never work again.

[Limey]

You can also watch them at Hulu.com, along with hundreds of other shows.  I may never work again.

What do you mean, "again"?

[gleach]

I worked this morning.  I checked email.  Looked at porn.  That's a lot of work. Photoshopped a friend's face on some gay porn and sent it to him. I have a lot of things to do. I am a busy man.

[MRaup]

I worked this morning.  I checked email.  Looked at porn.  That's a lot of work. Photoshopped a friend's face on some gay porn and sent it to him. I have a lot of things to do. I am a busy man.

I think you've confused yourself with JackAstro again...

[Gizzmonic]

There's no good guy when it comes to these huge media conglomerates.  But, in this case, I would side with Time Warner.

These spats get started like this: when it comes time to renew, the channel (in this case NBC) says to Time Warner Cable, "Now listen, we're launching the All-Knitting Channel and the Golf Channel 2.  If you want NBC, you have to agree to carry these new and exciting channels in your basic tier.  You also have to pay for these channels (raising customers' rates). "

Viacom did this to Dish Network a few years back.  Viacom controls CBS, MTV, Comedy Central, etc and they wanted Dish to include some new channels.  Dish held out and they didn't have CBS, MTV, etc for several weeks. 

The solution?  If you have an HDTV, just stick out the ol' rabbit ears.  You will be able to get NBC in HD over the air that way.  You won't be able to record with your DVR unfortunately, but it's a temporary solution.  I presume they will work out an agreement within a few weeks.

[Gizzmonic]

Looks like there's more info here: http://lifeinaustin.blogspot.com/2008/09/kxan-goes-at-it-again.html

[Savage]

There's no good guy when it comes to these huge media conglomerates.  But, in this case, I would side with Time Warner.

These spats get started like this: when it comes time to renew, the channel (in this case NBC) says to Time Warner Cable, "Now listen, we're launching the All-Knitting Channel and the Golf Channel 2.  If you want NBC, you have to agree to carry these new and exciting channels in your basic tier.  You also have to pay for these channels (raising customers' rates). "

Viacom did this to Dish Network a few years back.  Viacom controls CBS, MTV, Comedy Central, etc and they wanted Dish to include some new channels.  Dish held out and they didn't have CBS, MTV, etc for several weeks. 

The solution?  If you have an HDTV, just stick out the ol' rabbit ears.  You will be able to get NBC in HD over the air that way.  You won't be able to record with your DVR unfortunately, but it's a temporary solution.  I presume they will work out an agreement within a few weeks.

That's actually confusing the broadcast networks and the station groups.  Companies that own networks have forced carriage of other nascent or less popular cable networks using the leverage of their more popular channels in the past.  The food network actually got started through Tribune using it's WGN carriage rights to get carriage of FoodTV.  But there's been a definite trend away from owning both the cable networks and the local stations (in the split Viacom took the cable networks, CBS took the station groups, Fox selling off it's tv stations, etc.).   If networks do happen to retain television stations, it tends to be in major markets (Disney is a great example of this).  Broadcast companies actually tend to own stations in several different geographic areas with multiple network affiliations (NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, CW...) and they don't get any of the economics from the carriage of broadcast networks such MTV.  They used to get economics from the networks through affiliation fees but those have largely disappeared.  So the broadcast companies have taken the position that they provide content with the local stations and they should get paid for it by cable providers.  Some of the cable providers are still fighting hard against this while the telcos and the satellite companies have paid the fees.  The networks are largely sitting by the sidelines since these battles happen in smaller markets, with the hope that once the local affiliates have fought through the retransmission issue they (networks) can step in and demand a slice of the fees from the broadcast affiliates.  Time Warner has probably taken the hardest line on this issue of all the cable companies; Nexstar broadcasting is probably the trend setter of all the broadcast companies.

[Outlawscotty]

Another Example

I'm just practicing my links and then renaming of them from my lesson the other day.  Time Warner can pound sand anyway.

[Gizzmonic]

Thanks for the reset, Savage.  Good information.

And as for Time Warner, I'm on their side on this one.  The local stations are becoming less and less relevant, and this attitude that cable companies should pay them extra so their channel appears is stupid.

That's actually confusing the broadcast networks and the station groups.  Companies that own networks have forced carriage of other nascent or less popular cable networks using the leverage of their more popular channels in the past.  The food network actually got started through Tribune using it's WGN carriage rights to get carriage of FoodTV.  But there's been a definite trend away from owning both the cable networks and the local stations (in the split Viacom took the cable networks, CBS took the station groups, Fox selling off it's tv stations, etc.).   If networks do happen to retain television stations, it tends to be in major markets (Disney is a great example of this).  Broadcast companies actually tend to own stations in several different geographic areas with multiple network affiliations (NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, CW...) and they don't get any of the economics from the carriage of broadcast networks such MTV.  They used to get economics from the networks through affiliation fees but those have largely disappeared.  So the broadcast companies have taken the position that they provide content with the local stations and they should get paid for it by cable providers.  Some of the cable providers are still fighting hard against this while the telcos and the satellite companies have paid the fees.  The networks are largely sitting by the sidelines since these battles happen in smaller markets, with the hope that once the local affiliates have fought through the retransmission issue they (networks) can step in and demand a slice of the fees from the broadcast affiliates.  Time Warner has probably taken the hardest line on this issue of all the cable companies; Nexstar broadcasting is probably the trend setter of all the broadcast companies.

[Savage]

Thanks for the reset, Savage.  Good information.

And as for Time Warner, I'm on their side on this one.  The local stations are becoming less and less relevant, and this attitude that cable companies should pay them extra so their channel appears is stupid.

To be clear, it's probably not an issue of more money - it's money at all.  I'm not knowledgeable on LIN's former TWX contracts (I never did work on either of those parties), but it's highly likely that Time Warner is not paying the local stations a dime.  The whole retransmission fees issue is a real shift in the business model.  Traditionally stations used "must-carry" which forced cable systems to carry the affiliates because the distributors had the upper hand and the stations were trying to get outlets for their content.  With competition to cable from telcos and satellite and the general shift in the media model to place a premium on content, the economics of this relationship is slowly and painfully shifting.  Satellite providers and telcos were happy to pay the local affiliates - satellite providers actually charge you more in the a la carte pricing when you elect to get local channels than they have to pay to the local affiliates.  Smaller cable systems have started paying retransmission fees as the contracts come up for renewal, but the big systems like Time Warner and Cox are drawing a line in the sand because the have more clout given their size and also capitulation will be very painful for them because once they give cash payments to one station, they'll have to do it across their entire system as new contracts come up or if there are existing MFN provisions in their current agreements.  So far I think Time Warner has settled by providing non-cash compensation (e.g. guaranteed advertising). 

IMHO, it's a matter of when and not if the larger cable networks eventually have to pay.  They're just holding the line as long as they can... eventually either the networks will step-in (because they want a piece of those economics or a major market is impacted) or one of the telcos will become a bigger threat through acquiring one of the satellite providers.  LIN's in a tough economic spot right now - advertising at the broadcast stations is in the toilet and they're one of the more highly levered players in the space.  They can probably afford the loss of carriage for a brief spell, but going into 2009 when it's a non-political year in this economic environment will be tough to do and I'm sure Time Warner is counting on that.  I'm too lazy to confirm, but I think Nexstar kept a station off a system for ~13 months and I doubt LIN has the stomach for that kind of fight.  And I agree with you - the local stations are becoming less relevant and they're going to have to find a better way to monetize their biggest content asset - local news. 

[Waldo]

the local stations are becoming less relevant and they're going to have to find a better way to monetize their biggest content asset - local news. 

Do local stations really consider their local news as their biggest asset?  I guess that's where most of their ad revenue comes from, but it seems like all I've heard from KXAN through this whole deal is how people are going to miss The Office, Heroes, Sunday Night Football, etc... things that aren't necessarily theirs.  Their news broadcasts are mentioned as an afterthought in most of the ads I've heard.

[Lurch]

Do local stations really consider their local news as their biggest asset?  I guess that's where most of their ad revenue comes from, but it seems like all I've heard from KXAN through this whole deal is how people are going to miss The Office, Heroes, Sunday Night Football, etc... things that aren't necessarily theirs.  Their news broadcasts are mentioned as an afterthought in most of the ads I've heard.

I will tell you that when they did this to Suddenlink, KXAN mentioned Jim Spenser in every single communication.  This was underscored when Suddenlink picked up the Waco feed instead and that became the only thing KXAN had left to tout.

[Ty in Tampa]

Do local stations really consider their local news as their biggest asset?  I guess that's where most of their ad revenue comes from, but it seems like all I've heard from KXAN through this whole deal is how people are going to miss The Office, Heroes, Sunday Night Football, etc... things that aren't necessarily theirs.  Their news broadcasts are mentioned as an afterthought in most of the ads I've heard.

It would be presumptuous of KXAN to gloat that you will miss their local news when there's 3-5 other stations providing you the same thing. Your favorite shows are what you will miss, even though they derive a fraction of local ad revenue from network programming.

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

This is good only for AT&T U-Verse, Verizon FiOS, Direct TV, and Dish Network. TWC is losing customers every day to their competition and LIN/KXAN's audience is minimized in one fell swoop.

TWC can swing a mighty hammer because they owned the market for years. They've swung that hammer so hard for so long that they've alienated a large percentage of their customer base--customers who don't need much of a reason to switch to one of several alternatives.  Now TWC subscribers have yet another reason to switch carriers and the impetus is provided by the LIN/KXAN and TWC conflict. They're both losers in this battle.

[BUWebguy]

I saw a commercial on the local Fox affiliate here in Waco last week about an apparently similar battle going on with DirectTV, so I guess it swings both ways (cable and satellite).

[Waldo]

It would be presumptuous of KXAN to gloat that you will miss their local news when there's 3-5 other stations providing you the same thing.

I feel the same way.  But KXAN says their newscast is better, so I guess I'm missing something special.

I will tell you that when they did this to Suddenlink, KXAN mentioned Jim Spenser in every single communication.

Even though I like Jim Spencer, I think News 8 does a better job of weather coverage than all of the other stations.  The network affiliates always seem hesitant to break into programming for severe weather, whereas News 8 can provide continuous coverage without running the risk of pissing viewers off.  And while KXAN had the advantage in weather technology for a long time, everyone else seems to have caught up.

[Gizzmonic]

This is true...and the TV shows are easily obtained from iTunes and several other online vendors.  Sunday Night Football is the only irreplaceable part, and again-you can just stick out an antenna and get it in beautiful HD if you're not concerned about DVR.

Do local stations really consider their local news as their biggest asset?  I guess that's where most of their ad revenue comes from, but it seems like all I've heard from KXAN through this whole deal is how people are going to miss The Office, Heroes, Sunday Night Football, etc... things that aren't necessarily theirs.  Their news broadcasts are mentioned as an afterthought in most of the ads I've heard.

[juliogotay]

Do local stations really consider their local news as their biggest asset?  I guess that's where most of their ad revenue comes from, but it seems like all I've heard from KXAN through this whole deal is how people are going to miss The Office, Heroes, Sunday Night Football, etc... things that aren't necessarily theirs.  Their news broadcasts are mentioned as an afterthought in most of the ads I've heard.

Local news contributes a huge % of revenue for local affiliates. They get to sell all of the time during a 30-35 minute news broadcast whereas on a network show they get two or three avails with the network taking the other spots to sell their own national advertising. Most local advertisers can't afford spots in hit broadcast shows so they all want to be in the news. This is the cornerstone of network affiliates and, frankly, network ratings are most important to them to provide lead-in audiences for their news. Affiliates don't want their regular news viewers tuning in to a competitor's newscast for an extended period of time because they may not get that viewer back.

[Ty in Tampa]

Local news contributes a huge % of revenue for local affiliates. They get to sell all of the time during a 30-35 minute news broadcast whereas on a network show they get two or three avails with the network taking the other spots to sell their own national advertising. Most local advertisers can't afford spots in hit broadcast shows so they all want to be in the news. This is the cornerstone of network affiliates and, frankly, network ratings are most important to them to provide lead-in audiences for their news. Affiliates don't want their regular news viewers tuning in to a competitor's newscast for an extended period of time because they may not get that viewer back.

But wouldn't you agree that saying 'You'll miss our newscast!' does not hold as much weight as 'You'll miss "The Office!", despite the difference in ad revenue?

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

After Michelle Valles was let go, I quit watching KXAN news for a couple of reasons.

[matadorph]

<=======

[Gizzmonic]

After Michelle Valles was let go, I quit watching KXAN news for a couple of reasons.

I'd like a peek at your peaks, Michelle Valles....

[Savage]

But wouldn't you agree that saying 'You'll miss our newscast!' does not hold as much weight as 'You'll miss "The Office!", despite the difference in ad revenue?

Local news is their most valuable asset, not the most valuable thing they provide viewers.  Which from a business model perspective isn't great.

[Savage]

This is good only for AT&T U-Verse, Verizon FiOS, Direct TV, and Dish Network. TWC is losing customers every day to their competition and LIN/KXAN's audience is minimized in one fell swoop.

TWC can swing a mighty hammer because they owned the market for years. They've swung that hammer so hard for so long that they've alienated a large percentage of their customer base--customers who don't need much of a reason to switch to one of several alternatives.  Now TWC subscribers have yet another reason to switch carriers and the impetus is provided by the LIN/KXAN and TWC conflict. They're both losers in this battle.

So true.  I'd be surprised if LIN didn't have an arrangement with one of the satellite providers where LIN helps sign up customers for them and gets a cut. 

[JackAstro]

So true.  I'd be surprised if LIN didn't have an arrangement with one of the satellite providers where LIN helps sign up customers for them and gets a cut. 

Since they only mentioned U-Verse and Dish Network in the crawls I saw on screen, I'm sure you're correct.

[Lurch]

So true.  I'd be surprised if LIN didn't have an arrangement with one of the satellite providers where LIN helps sign up customers for them and gets a cut. 

They only recently got KXAN-HD on DirecTV.  Apparently no love lost there either.

[JackAstro]

They only recently got KXAN-HD on DirecTV.  Apparently no love lost there either.

Yep, and you can guess why LIN wouldn't give DirecTV their HD feed for... what, over a year I think? It had to do with LIN wanting more of something. And it wasn't compliments on their looks. I've said too much...