DirecTV cuts off die Maus

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Bob Jersey

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Sep 1, 2024, 7:33:55 PM9/1/24
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Deadline to renew carriage contract passes. No clues on future talks.

Kevin M.

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Sep 1, 2024, 10:13:57 PM9/1/24
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It always amuses me when this occurs. I hope it lasts months. 

Kevin M. (RPCV)


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M-D November

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Sep 3, 2024, 2:06:01 PM9/3/24
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I'm curious because I'm seeing a lot people blaming one side or the other - in situations like this, does the carrier (DirecTV) cut off the signal from the source (Disney), or is the source no longer delivering to the carrier?  There are a lot of online commenters who are quick to blame Disney's greed but act like DirecTV is an innocent victim in all this, but what's the real story? Could DTV turn the signal back on if they wanted to, or has Disney plugged the well?

Bob Jersey

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Sep 3, 2024, 5:12:23 PM9/3/24
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The Disney brass' statement seeks to avoid "undervaluing" their content... what that usually means is that the content provider expects to be paid something more than they've been getting, though how much more is obviously the subject of negotiation. If that doesn't happen, the carrier is cut off.     B

M-D November, to Kevin M and moi, Sept 3rd; emphasis added:

Bob Jersey

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Sep 3, 2024, 5:23:18 PM9/3/24
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DirecTV's chief financial officer expects it to do just that... seems the satcaster would like to increase the options to include "packages of programming tailored to various subscriber interests, rather than forcing customers to take channels they may not want or watch very often."
Now where have we heard that before?
B

Kevin M, to moi, Sept 1st:

Tom Wolper

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Sep 3, 2024, 5:27:44 PM9/3/24
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The smart money says the deal will get done Monday in time to air Monday Night Football.

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Jim Ellwanger

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Sep 3, 2024, 5:39:46 PM9/3/24
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To answer what I think is M-D's specific question:

DirecTV receives the same signals as every other provider, mostly via satellite, so Disney hasn't literally cut anything off on their end. (DirecTV's main reception facility is on Culver Boulevard in Los Angeles - I sometimes have occasion to drive by there and catch a glimpse of the numerous satellite dishes in back of the building. I believe they have a backup facility in Colorado that can take over the entire operation if necessary. They also have a smaller facility in each individual market that only receives local stations.)

DirecTV likely receives the local KABC signal via a fiber link (rather than using an OTA antenna), but it's probably part of a larger interconnect that's also serving the various Spectrum headends in the area along with other providers, so that wouldn't be cut off, either.

It's to the benefit of both sides that they be able to reactivate the channels ASAP after a new deal is signed.


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Dino Alexander

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Sep 3, 2024, 8:39:37 PM9/3/24
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CBS had a very nuanced article about it in 2010. Just replace the names of the telcos & networks and it pretty much plays out the same. 



Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 3, 2024, at 2:06 PM, M-D November <mdnov...@gmail.com> wrote:

I'm curious because I'm seeing a lot people blaming one side or the other - in situations like this, does the carrier (DirecTV) cut off the signal from the source (Disney), or is the source no longer delivering to the carrier?  There are a lot of online commenters who are quick to blame Disney's greed but act like DirecTV is an innocent victim in all this, but what's the real story? Could DTV turn the signal back on if they wanted to, or has Disney plugged the well?

On Sunday, September 1, 2024 at 10:13:57 PM UTC-4 Kevin M. wrote:
It always amuses me when this occurs. I hope it lasts months. 

Kevin M. (RPCV)


On Sun, Sep 1, 2024 at 4:33 PM 'Bob Jersey' via TVorNotTV <tvor...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Deadline to renew carriage contract passes. No clues on future talks.

B

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Bob Jersey

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Sep 4, 2024, 5:34:11 PM9/4/24
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Corrected the URL: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/retransmission-wars-cablevision-is-the-pot-calling-abcs-kettle-black/ (link)      B

Dino Alexander, to M-D November, Kevin M and moi, Sept 3rd, in part:

Tom Wolper

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Sep 4, 2024, 6:59:40 PM9/4/24
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The story behind this impasse is different than in the past. DirecTV is losing subscribers, as are the other cable and satellite companies, and they’re putting their foot down in order to try to stay alive. As we know, the cable TV business is built on bundling by the media companies. If you get cable or satellite you pay $6/month for ESPN whether or not you ever watch it. When cable was ubiquitous the provider would have to sign a new contract and jack up prices and what could viewers do but pay? Now they can just drop the service.

DirecTV is demanding Disney break up its bundles so that they can charge less to households who don’t want sports or children’s programming. And they seem prepared to wait it out.

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PGage

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Sep 4, 2024, 9:05:13 PM9/4/24
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All of that makes a certain kind of sense, and seems just about inevitable, but…I am not sure how this really is good for companies like DirectTv in the long run.  If Disney really was forced to go a la carte with its products, wouldn’t that just speed up their transition to streaming? And if all or most of ESPN were available on ESPN+ to stream, wouldn’t DirectTV end up hemorrhaging subscribers, and go out of business (sooner)?

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Mark Jeffries

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Sep 4, 2024, 9:23:00 PM9/4/24
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Consider that Charter has put in the requirements that certain cable tier customers get the Disney+ ad tier for free, along with ESPN+ and whatever the over-the-top ESPN streamer is going to be.  The same customers are also getting the Paramount+ basic ad tier (with no Showtime) for free and now AMC+ for free (including the linear channel that airs new episodes of their original series a week before the mainline AMC without commercials)..That's going to be the bargaining tools from here on out (and let me say that if I as an HBO subscriber with Comcast get Max for no extra cost, as a subscriber to what is now known as the Paramount+ with Showtime linear channel, I should get Par+ with Showtime streaming for no extra cost.

Mark Jeffries
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Bob Jersey

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Sep 9, 2024, 3:10:33 PM9/9/24
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And a rate hike is in the offing, dispute notwithstanding...
B

Moi, Sept 1st:

Bob Jersey

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Sep 14, 2024, 10:40:12 AM9/14/24
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Cutoff over. D!sney agrees to at least some "flexible options."
B

Moi, Sept 1st:
Deadline to renew carriage contract passes. No clues on future talks.
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