Get ready for the great cable unbundling
The cable industry is pulling an about-face on the issue of a la carte programming, due to expensive content rights and a weakening economy making bundles of network programming unaffordable. As a result, they're trying to create smaller and more affordable bundles of programming.
Get Ready for Even More Retrans Fights in 2011
Some DirecTV and Dish Network subscribers face blackouts of local TV networks after the satellite providers were unable to reach agreements with Northwest Broadcasting and Frontier Radio Management. While the disputes might seem isolated, they are part of a larger struggle brewing between programmers and distributors.
News Corp. COO: Broadcasters Need More Money, Or Else
Want to keep local news and major league sports on broadcast channels like ABC, CBS and Fox? Then stay out of our business, and let us make money through higher retransmission fees: That's the message News Corp. President Chase Carey has for politicians in Washington.
TWC: Fee Fights Everyone’s Problem, Need Intervention
Hardly a month goes by without a new fight over retransmission fees. Is it time for government or the FCC to step in? That's the position of Time Warner Cable's director of digital communications Jeff Simmermon, who argues that these disagreements are no longer isolated incidents. 
Networks Playing a Dangerous Game In Retrans Fights
The number of TV blackouts due to retransmission disputes has risen to its highest level in a decade, and more could be on the way, as broadcasters seek higher fees to carry their content. But those blackouts could have unintended consequences as consumers find entertainment elsewhere. 
Smaller Cable Networks at Risk of Being Squeezed Out?
Smaller cable networks might see their negotiation leverage being stripped away, as cable companies commit more of their programming spend to "must carry" channels. That's one key takeaway from AT&T's recent negotiations with Crown Media for carriage of the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel. 
Vid-Biz: Adobe vs. Apple, Irdeto, mDialog
Adobe Might Sue Apple Over Apps; Sources say that Adobe will take Apple to court within a few weeks if the companies aren’t able to resolve an issue of whether or not Adobe can sell tools that will allow Flash developers to build iPhone apps. (IT World)YuMe to Integrate Online Video Ads Into Microsoft Silverlight;...
Vid-Biz: The Oscars, Comcast-TiVo, Adobe’s HTTP Streaming
Oscars Get the Live-Streamed Red Carpet Treatment; the Academy Awards show is getting with the social media program, live-streaming its red carpet to the web from 3-5 p.m. PT on Sunday. (GigaOM)Comcast in Talks With TiVo About ‘Premiere;’ Comcast is discussing the possibility of porting TiVo’s Premiere user interface — designed to provide enhanced search...
ABC Threatens to Pull the Plug on Cablevision
Another day, another broadcaster headed for a showdown with the local cable company over retransmission fees. This time it’s Disney’s WABC-7 in New York, which is threatening to yank its signal from Cablevision’s pay-TV service. Like many battles that have come before it, this one will likely end in a last-minute compromise — but if...
