WALL STREET JOURNAL: A blackout of CBS Corp.’s CBS flagship network on Time Warner Cable Inc. TWC -0.49% systems in New York, Los Angeles and a few other markets dragged on through the weekend with no sign of any resolution.
By Sunday afternoon the two companies couldn’t even agree on whether any talks were under way. A Time Warner Cable spokeswoman said negotiations were “ongoing,” while CBS said the “there are no negotiations taking place at this time.” … (more)
TWC vs. CBS. The loser is . . . US.
By Dick Miller
WE.CONNECT.DOTS: Babe, my impatient 87-year-old mother-in-law, gets her satellite TV service installed Tuesday. That’s her quick response to the short war between Time Warner Cable (TWC) and CBS. The dispute may even be over by the time this is published…
The cruel joke is that the One Percenters and their blind followers continue to maintain we live in a socialistic environment. The opposite is true. Big business rules our world for two reasons.
Government has allowed big business to get big. Because big business PACs write larger campaign checks than Us, they remain in control. This is known as an oligarchy – a form of government where a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes.
Time Warner is the second largest cable service (and dominates the greater New York City market.) TWC has little competition in West Central PA. Headquarters for those thousands of customers, in fact, is Akron OH.
Government originally had to hand the local cable companies a monopoly. These businesses needed to recapture the huge investment that was made in infrastructure to offer the service.
I refer here to the cable companies that were bought out by the companies that were bought out by the companies that were bought out. Get the picture. Long ago, this investment was repaid, but the monopoly in the guise of a utility continues.
Local governments are complicit. Even though the cable companies need their approval to operate, the locals have neither inclination nor leverage to get better service for their citizens. They have been bought off by the hidden taxes municipalities are permitted to levy on cable bills.
Local channels, featuring coverage of high school events, parades and town council meetings, once mandated in community cable services are no more.
Today cable TV companies are the examples for horrible service, high prices and stick-it-to-them contracts.
Until cable TV companies are able to buy the satellite services, they will use their political muscle against them.The satellites – if you can switch to them – are also know for broken promises and poor service.
Cables post ridiculously high package prices, then offer discounts for extra-long contracts. If you cancel before the end of a contract period, cables will sue for the rate difference.
In Philadelphia, a town where cable giant Comcast reigns, city regulations control where a satellite dish can be located.
CBS is the largest corporation that governs TV networks, but it does not dominate. CBS also owns Showtime, The Movie Channel (TMC), Spider, Smithsonian and more. The agreement for how much CBS pays TWC for cable access expired at the end of June.
Day-to-day negotiations apparently were not progressing and at 5 p.m., Thursday, TWC pulled a market strategic plug on CBS…
As consumers with no power, TWC wants us to lobby CBS into paying more money. We lose either way.
If CBS doesn’t pay more, TWC will have its excuse to charge us more. Either way, TWC will likely allow its infrastructure in rural areas to continue to deteriorate. How else can we continue to enjoy screen fragmentation and frequent blackouts?
In many other industrialized countries cable TV, internet and telephone services are more closely regulated and cheaper. The Koch Brothers, and all who subscribe to their philosophy of screwing Us, believe this is a small price for Us to pay for the benefits (?) of a free market.
BOTTOM LINE: The TWC-CBS spat has not hit bottom yet. If it lasts even a few more days, look for lawmakers in Harrisburg or Washington to get involved. Ignore state and Federal legislatures abysmal record of non-accomplishment. This is a great opportunity to get some favorable publicity and fish for more political contributions.
