Stay tuned to come: more litigation fee on local television

PHILADELPHIA - Stay tuned to local television stations, threatening litigation in queues cable TV. The transmitters are affected by lower advertising revenue collections result of the fees on cable and other providers of subscription television to the stations. The suppliers are resisting, and in the last battle, Cablevision Systems Corp. has the NBC station in New York in the hours before the Oscars sank Sunday broadcast. More power cuts as the networks of different professions and different vendors throughout the country have placed a contract to expire this year, including one of the main elements of the ABC in the market for Time Warner Cable Inc.. All signs of down-to-the-wire talks that climbs up the audience, because other options were to rely on their favorite shows and sporting events. "There are a lot of money at stake," said Robin Flynn, an analyst at SNL Kagan. Will come "There are many more battles." These cases were previously restricted to cable channels like CNN and ESPN, as long as it was paid a fee per participant by the sellers. But in recent years, the stations that are free over the airwaves these amounts are cable TV and other providers as well as free transfer. It first started in small markets with subsidiaries that are not owned by the network but they also carry their programming. Now the networks that such fees to the stations they own, especially in major markets like New York and Los Angeles. About 3 million Cablevision customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, New York NBC station looked lost on the day of the Oscars, one of the programs, most of the year. Only the two sides, the outlines of a deal restored. Viewers missed the first 15 minutes of the ceremony. The major U.S. networks including CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox, used to cable TV operators and other such rights in exchange for sale to maintain certain vendors for advertising slots, the channel to advertisers about. Sometimes the manufacturers that have agreed, cable channels are introducing new businesses, including those of the parent network ABC as the owner of Walt Disney Co., instead of cash. Suppliers prefer this payment in kind, because they have the means to address cable lines, trucks want to invest and set-top boxes. But the television networks, undermines the search for new sources of revenue such as advertising revenues have to say more in cash to pay for their programs. Although the 1992 Cable Act on Federal Broa dcasters may charge fees, not to create the networks, their e station until recently. It all started with CBS Corp. in 2006. CBS CEO Leslie Moonves told analysts last month that left these costs and the proposed "substantial secondary source of income." Flynn expects that the combined fee for the network owned television stations and affiliates, to reach over 1 billion U.S. dollars this year. This represents an increase of more than 750 million U.S. dollars last year and 500 million in 2008. While these costs have risen about 50 percent last year to increase the fee cable is still not even near the same pace. Last year, increases in cable fees in the range 5 to 7 percent, "said Flynn. Nevertheless, the audience could end up with queues at smaller. To a higher fee for local television, cable providers have too many cable channels that it currently pays keep the global privileges in check to let fall. The spectators do not have many Disney-owned cable channels, but they complain when the cable providers are drops of Disney-ABC removed. But if several cable channels are dropped, subscribers would have more incentive cancel the cable service entirely and rely on satellite and online alternatives. TV wins in a battle between broadcasters and operators, "said Moody's analyst Russell Solomon, in a research note. broadcast networks" are some of the most popular content business television programming from cable and other pay needed to keep customers and remain competitive, "he said. broadcasters argue they are entitled to their fees for over-the-air networks for the pay-TV operators charge their customers for packages that include local TV stations. They emphasize that their concerts always attract more viewers than cable channels and as such they should be compensated appropriately. But cable executives said they already indirectly compensate broadcasters as part of a broader action for the cable channel that has its own parent companies and cable providers reported an increase in program costs would lead to superior cable bills. "As people pay more for gas if the oil price rises, the price We are asking for is directly from what we pay for the planning involved, "said Maureen Huff, a spokeswoman for Time Warner Cable." The only way to solve the problem, we let the networks know the audience, take no more. "The cable operators are willing to cracking down - even if their audience temporarily missing their favorite shows.