wrote: spectrum is a big ripoff to begin with they have a monopoly goin in canton,oh and now are doing things to interfere with antenna signals in canton,oh so you have to get directv or dish network to watch tv or pay double what you used pay for time warner cable in other words spectrum are ripping everyone off
No,
All the providers are the same. They will promote new customers for one to two years and than roll you up to regular rates with slight discounts for bundles. Dish Network loses more channels due to contract disputes than any other provider, and seems to never get them back. Disney just resolved a dispute with another provider at the last minute. It's all about holding down the cost of rising TV programing rates.
These contract renewals occur about every five years per choice of a station's decision to do "Retransmission Consent" or "Must Carry." Studies have shown since the cable TV act of 1992, that in negotiations with hundreds of providers, deals get done that are fair about 95% of the time, with no problems between the station owners and vendors.
That five percent though has become more of a problem in recent years due to networks overvaluing the value of their programing. Until the Cable Act of 1992, which is so dated that it is laughable is revised to reflect modern times and technologies, there are stations that can get away with trying to charge up to three times as much for the same programing under a new contract.
Where do you draw the line? The entertainment industry needs to revise our TV vendor codes to mandate "Must Carry" status for ANY OTA station on cable, dish, or U-Verse that can be picked up with an antenna. Write to your Congress people, contact the FCC to work on passing legislation for TV vendors to mandate "Must Carry" for OTA stations at a vendors' basic level of service.
Than, provide ala-carte options for those channels that are the highest priced, which of course is sports programing. That way, sports fans can purchase ala-carte packages, and people who don't watch sports don't have to pay for the content. If ESPN and NFL Network were offered ala-carte, standard tier rates would go down by anywhere from $20-$25. But our current transmission laws under the 1992 Cable Act also allow providers where they HAVE to provide ESPN to everyone. They HAVE to provide NFL Network on Standard Service.
Tribune Media wants Spectrum customers to pay almost the same amount as sports channels for a bunch of reruns and program that can be picked up OTA with an antenna. It's like the following example. Let's say the old contract between Spectrum and Tribune charged 85 cents per sub. Spectrum says, "Well, we will raise that to a dollar" to cover inflation costs." And even that is high. Tribune Media says, "No, our programing is so wonderful, we think subs should pay $3.50 more per sub." And than with taxes and fees, if Spectrum were to approve that deal, we would all be paying at least $5.00 a month more. That's why Spectrum has to accept a fair and reasonable rate. Put it at .95 cents to a dollar MAX. But Tribune wants far more than what their content is worth. That's the problem.
Satch