DISHing about the CNN Blackout

Dish Network's 14 million  satellite TV subscribers have been unable to see CNN or many other Turner Network channels since October 21st due to a carriage contract dispute.   The two big Turner Entertainment channels, TBS and TNT, are on a separate contract and were unaffected by the blackout.

Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen is a maverick who has pushed broadcast rights to the brink in the past to drive a better bargain. Ergen's quip about CNN and MK-370 highlights the tension between supplying costs and subscriber demands.  CNN has appeals to modest spectrum of news viewers yet Turn wanted a double digit increase in carriage costs.  Losing Dish Network cuts into 17% of their prospective market, which may also include the millions of monitors in waiting rooms and airport terminals

Dish Network the only television provider which has played hardball in contract terms.  DirecTV dropped with NBC/Universal Weather Channel in February over carriage costs and anticipating niche competition, and the Weather Channel tried fighting back to claim that dropping the channel was a public safety issue.

If it were for CNN, Cartoon Network and TCM alone, Dish Network might be tempted to permanently drop these Turner channels, but TBS and TNT will be up for renewal at year's end the NBA agreement might be the leverage to clinch the overall deals.

Cord cutting consumers might think that they avoided the messy media melee by ordering programming ala cart with broadband internet.  But a recent report indicates that bundled programming packages on cable or satellite might be less costly than the ala cart option.

Considering CNN's ratings, it is dubious if anyone would notice about the absence without articles. However on Election Night --the SuperBowl for political junkies--CNN managed to garner 1/3 of Fox News Channel's ratings.

Some of the Media Maelstrom Over DirecTV Dropping The Weather Channel Carriage

DirecTV, the nation’s largest satellite television provider, has suspended carriage of NBC/Universal’s The Weather Channel over a contract dispute.   This DirecTV disruption takes away 18% of The Weather Channel’s normal viewer base.

The Weather Channel had been garnering 13 cents a subscriber per month and TWC was negotiating for a 1 cent increase whereas DirecTV wanted to cut the carriage cost by 75%, supposedly to make up for local carriage costs.

Rather than frame the carriage kerfluffle as a business to business dispute, The Weather Channel President David Clark  framed it as a public safety problem.  The Weather Channel urged customers to contact Congress to intervene in the dispute.  Hours after The Weather Channel was pulled from DirecTV, TWC announced a new initiative to bolster its status as a public utility, by promoting Twitter hashtags such as #gotfuel, #nofuel and #powerlinedown.  These public service internet announcements by TWC follow the direction of the White House, FEMA and the Department of Energy.

For its part, DirecTV added WeatherNation on channel 361 as a substitute weather station.  WeatherNation was created in 2010 after a prior carriage dispute with The Weather Channel.  DirecTV has promised to activate temporary emergency weather channel as warranted (e.g. for a major hurricane).  However, DirecTV points out that in an age of mobile telephony, many weather watchers get their updates via their cell phones and mobile devices.  Furthermore, The Weather Channel has added reality television programs which may increase viewership but seemingly distracts from their supposed public service and information mission.

As the carriage contract dispute continues, The Weather Channel CEO Danny Kenny stiltedly stated: "I am shocked they have put corporate profits ahead of keeping a trusted channel.. We are not looking for a large fee increase. I am hopeful DirecTV will come to their senses soon."  What a way to treat a broadcast partner–  demand a fee increase, muddy your opponent and then threaten to have Big Brother intervene.

The Weather Channel  also trashed WeatherNation as being "a cheap start-up that does weather forecasting on a three-hour taped loop, has no field coverage, no weather experts."  The Weather Channel is right to be worried about competition.  The same day that DirecTV dropped TWC, Accuweather announced its previously secret plan to launch its own weather channel in the third quarter of 2014.  And in October, 2014, Network Weather Channel, which bills itself as having legendary personalities, is set to premiere with easy to read maps 24/7 and no programming.  

Prior to the DirecTV dispute, the Weather Channel bragged at it was in 80% of American households.  But with the  an array of forthcoming competition,  The Weather Channel seems intent to protect its position by ingratiating itself with Uncle Sam to be considered like a public utility with an exclusive on weather.

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The Weather Channel’s public service play and campaign to coerce Congress into action stinks of crony capitalism and foreshadows the dangers of the government picking winners and losers in the marketplace.   It is unlikely that all four televised meteorological stations will broadcast for long together.  But the prospective competition may lead to a price war which lowers carriage rates.  Those channels offering the most appealing programming and with the most savvy business sense should flourish if there still is a free marketplace, that is if there is still a free marketplace. 

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