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Any other community affected: The two companies are at odds over Sinclair’s request that Mediacom pay a per-subscriber fee to the station, just like it pays for cable networks like ESPN or CNN.
We won't have a local TV station in the Pensacola-Fort Walton Beach area because of a dispute about fees.
Mediacom may no longer show WEAR-TV 3
Published - October, 31, 2006
Louis Cooper lcooper@pnj.com
The parent company of WEAR-TV 3 plans to offer local viewers a $100 discount to switch to a satellite service as Mediacom cable considers dropping the channel.
Barry Faber, vice president and general counsel for station owner Sinclair Broadcasting, said WEAR will soon begin publicizing a special 800 number to call to sign up for Direct-TV that will qualify new subscribers to 10 monthly $10 discounts.
The deal will be good through Dec. 1, the day after Sinclair’s contract with Mediacom expires. Mediacom is the primary cable provider for Santa Rosa County, but the deal will be offered to everyone in WEAR’s viewing area.
The two companies are at odds over Sinclair’s request that Mediacom pay a per-subscriber fee to the station, just like it pays for cable networks like ESPN or CNN.
Traditionally, broadcast channels have not charged for programing, but since satellite companies like Direct-TV and Dish Network have agreed to the fees, Sinclair is including that requirement for cable companies as it renegotiates expiring contracts.
Faber said Mediacom has made no attempt to negotiate since Sinclair made an offer on Oct. 10, but he would consider a counter offer.
“I’m very pessimistic,” he said. “It is very possible that people will wake up on Dec. 1 and not be able to watch a program (on WEAR).”
Sinclair WILL PAY YOU up to $100 or up to $150, depending on your market
Found the following:
Please be aware, however, that the termination of our relationship with Mediacom need not limit your ability to continue to watch us. First of all, you will continue to be able to watch us completely for free over-the-air. In addition, you may choose to subscribe to either DirecTV or to the Dish Network, both of which will continue to carry all of the Sinclair Stations. We particularly encourage you to call DirecTV at 1-800-381-4388 because if you sign up with them prior to December 1, 2006 and comply with certain requirements, Sinclair WILL PAY YOU up to $100 or up to $150, depending on your market, (which will be applied as either fifteen, or ten $10 rebates against each of your first 15 or 10 monthly DirecTV bills)! For complete details on this offer, call DirecTV.
Fortunately, there aren't too many programs that I watch on WEAR, although it will affect my husband's viewing of Monday Night Football. As far as switching to Dish or Direct tv, I'm not too keen on that idea, because I don't like being required to sign a contract. For cryin' out loud, it's television, not a necessity, like a cell phone, or something! I won't say that I absolutely won't switch to satellite, but it's unlikely. To be honest, I'm almost suspicious of this situation. Sinclair encouraging folks to switch...I can't tell who's telling the truth, anyway. I have read the information on both the WEAR website, and on Mediacom, and I still can't make heads or tails of who is telling the straight up of it. But, I do think the whole thing is goofy!
Fortunately, there aren't too many programs that I watch on WEAR, although it will affect my husband's viewing of Monday Night Football. As far as switching to Dish or Direct tv, I'm not too keen on that idea, because I don't like being required to sign a contract. For cryin' out loud, it's television, not a necessity, like a cell phone, or something! I won't say that I absolutely won't switch to satellite, but it's unlikely. To be honest, I'm almost suspicious of this situation. Sinclair encouraging folks to switch...I can't tell who's telling the truth, anyway. I have read the information on both the WEAR website, and on Mediacom, and I still can't make heads or tails of who is telling the straight up of it. But, I do think the whole thing is goofy!
We just want to have local information, not a necessity can get from radio or newspaper. But the other stations are from Alabama with minimal info from our area and WEAR has good sports/programs. Local news are the primary reason.
What you are doing to this community is just plain wrong!! This service was and is greatly needed for many reasons! Both the public and sinclair will both loose if this service is not available, which is to say available by ones free choice not of dictation. This is way beyond monday night football. This reminds me of two kids fighting for the same toy. Where is the grown-up? or who will stand up and do what is right? For every-one!!!
Today WEAR TV (ABC) will be off the Mediacom lineup, see below for their dispute.
1. What is the dispute between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Mediacom over?
The dispute relates to how much compensation Mediacom will pay Sinclair for the right to carry television stations which Sinclair owns or provides services to (the "Sinclair Stations")on Mediacom’s cable systems.
2. Why should Mediacom pay anything to carry the Sinclair Stations?
Mediacom sells its service to the public and like any retailer should pay to acquire the assets that it wants to sell. Although the Sinclair Stations are free to over-the-air viewers, Mediacom attracts and retains its paying subscribers by packaging together an attractive combination of programming choices including broadcast stations. Without broadcast stations like the Sinclair Stations the package of channels that Mediacom has to sell would be less desirable and therefore less valuable. Mediacom makes more money by being able to include broadcast stations in its offering and like any business should pay to acquire such assets.
3. Doesn’t the Federal government think broadcasters should give their stations to the cable companies for free?
To the contrary, Federal laws and the rules of Federal Communications Commission specifically contemplate television station owners like Sinclair, being paid by the cable companies for the right to carry the signals of over-the-air stations.
4. Does Mediacom pay to acquire other channels?
Based on publicly available information, we believe that Mediacom, like all cable companies, routinely pays the owners of the vast majority of the channels it carries for that right. We believe such fees range as high as $2.00 per subscriber per month for ESPN and public reports note that The FOX News Channel is currently seeking $1.00 per subscriber per month. We believe that even channels with a narrow audience appeal, such as Animal Planet and HGTV generally receive monthly per subscriber fees.
5. Do the cable companies also pay fees for over-the-air broadcast stations?
We believe that cable companies generally pay for the signals of many broadcast stations, although such payments are often disguised as consideration provided to other channels which are often owned by vertically integrated companies which own not only broadcast stations, but also cable channels. For example, Disney currently owns not only numerous broadcast stations affiliated with ABC, but also such channels as ESPN and ABC Family. News Corp. owns not only a number of broadcast stations affiliated with the FOX network, but also such channels as F/X and Fox News. Cable companies typically prefer to pay for the cable channels and not to pay for the broadcast channels in order to try and avoid having to pay for broadcast stations owned by companies like Sinclair whose holdings in this area are limited to broadcast stations. We also know that many cable companies pay consideration to stand-alone broadcast station owners.
Mediacom is working toward reaching an acceptable agreement with Sinclair Broadcasting Group to continue to carry their local broadcast TV stations. For details, please select the TV station in your area:
Well, I've read both sides and I believe that Sinclair is trying to rip off the very consumers that they are supposed to be serving. After all, they get big money from the advertisers and if they got what they are demanding from Mediacom, the fees would be passed along to us, the subscribers. I, for one, am thankful that Mediacom dug their heels in and showed them that they aren't that necessary in this place. I don't agree that we don't get good local news from Channel 5 up in Alabama. They have beat Channel 3 to a lot of different things that I am aware of and their coverage is pretty good. If they know that people aren't getting news from Channel 3 anymore, I am sure they will pick up the pace. I have written the businesses that advertise on Channel 3 and told them I will no longer be purchasing from them. There are far too many choices that I don't have to use them. I think this corporate greed has gone too far and Sinclair should be ashamed. I agree with the lady that it is only t.v., not a necessity. You can get all of the weather you need on the weather channel or on the radio, or even on the internet for free. Especially during a hurricane, t.v. will be off anyway. Ha! Another thing people don't know is that when you have the dish, unless you have a $5.00 per month box on each t.v. you can only watch 2 t.v.s with different stations, if you don't have the box on the 3rd through whatever t.v. you have, you have to watch the same station that is on the main t.v. In my case, I couldn't afford to have the dish monthly and I don't like to be forced into a contract. Besides, I don't like the reception on the dish network and I think it is a little shady that WEAR was pushing that Dish Network so fast and heavy before they even knew what the outcome would be. This has been going on for a couple of months now that they have been pushing the dish. I think they are in cahoots with Dish Network and getting a big kickback. This is the same kind of stuff the Phone Company has always pulled. They don't mind giving a big rebate because they depend on that monthly business for a long time because people can't call and cancel until after the year is up and if they get a minimum of $50. a month from everyone, they are only losing 2 months worth of sales per house and the rest is their profit. Good sales tactic, but WEAR has to be getting something big out of this. Let's see, they may be getting something from DIsh Network for helping them sell the dishes, they are getting ad money from their advertisors and then they want Mediacom to kick in more. Give me a break!!!
Well, I've read both sides and I believe that Sinclair is trying to rip off the very consumers that they are supposed to be serving. After all, they get big money from the advertisers and if they got what they are demanding from Mediacom, the fees would be passed along to us, the subscribers. I, for one, am thankful that Mediacom dug their heels in and showed them that they aren't that necessary in this place. I don't agree that we don't get good local news from Channel 5 up in Alabama. They have beat Channel 3 to a lot of different things that I am aware of and their coverage is pretty good. If they know that people aren't getting news from Channel 3 anymore, I am sure they will pick up the pace. I have written the businesses that advertise on Channel 3 and told them I will no longer be purchasing from them. There are far too many choices that I don't have to use them. I think this corporate greed has gone too far and Sinclair should be ashamed. I agree with the lady that it is only t.v., not a necessity. You can get all of the weather you need on the weather channel or on the radio, or even on the internet for free. Especially during a hurricane, t.v. will be off anyway. Ha! Another thing people don't know is that when you have the dish, unless you have a $5.00 per month box on each t.v. you can only watch 2 t.v.s with different stations, if you don't have the box on the 3rd through whatever t.v. you have, you have to watch the same station that is on the main t.v. In my case, I couldn't afford to have the dish monthly and I don't like to be forced into a contract. Besides, I don't like the reception on the dish network and I think it is a little shady that WEAR was pushing that Dish Network so fast and heavy before they even knew what the outcome would be. This has been going on for a couple of months now that they have been pushing the dish. I think they are in cahoots with Dish Network and getting a big kickback. This is the same kind of stuff the Phone Company has always pulled. They don't mind giving a big rebate because they depend on that monthly business for a long time because people can't call and cancel until after the year is up and if they get a minimum of $50. a month from everyone, they are only losing 2 months worth of sales per house and the rest is their profit. Good sales tactic, but WEAR has to be getting something big out of this. Let's see, they may be getting something from DIsh Network for helping them sell the dishes, they are getting ad money from their advertisors and then they want Mediacom to kick in more. Give me a break!!!
I do have Dish for years and local channels are available way before this concern. But you are correct, someone has to be getting a profit, but the local customer now does not have a service that was originally FREE to all of us. WEAR was the local source of information for our greatest fear HURRICANES. The DISH does not provide the local weather banners in the Weather Channel like Mediacom does. Hopefully this will be added for our benefit.
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The two companies are at odds over Sinclair’s request that Mediacom pay a per-subscriber fee to the station, just like it pays for cable networks like ESPN or CNN. 
Sinclair WILL PAY YOU up to $100 or up to $150, depending on your market
As far as switching to Dish or Direct tv, I'm not too keen on that idea, because I don't like being required to sign a contract. For cryin' out loud, it's television, not a necessity, like a cell phone, or something!
I won't say that I absolutely won't switch to satellite, but it's unlikely. To be honest, I'm almost suspicious of this situation. Sinclair encouraging folks to switch...I can't tell who's telling the truth, anyway. I have read the information on both the WEAR website, and on Mediacom, and I still can't make heads or tails of who is telling the straight up of it. But, I do think the whole thing is goofy!
The following states are affected
