Editor's Corner: Cord shaver: Why I dropped ESPN and HBO Also Noted: Spotlight On... Verizon to kick off Q1 2012 cable earnings
Arris closes Motorola Mobility acquisition; Rovi veteran joins blinkx and much more... Special report: The battle for union contracts
 Negotiations between the large U.S.-based telcos and their wireline unions--the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)--continue to be a major storyline in the wireline side of telecom. As the major telcos have been migrating towards IP-based services and their legacy wireline voice service revenues have declined, it has cut into revenues that would be used to pay for union health and retirement benefits. Check out our new feature  Follow @FierceCable on Twitter!
News From the Fierce Network:
1. Report: Verizon's FiOS, wireless will drive up Q1 EPS by 11.8 percent
2. AT&T's Internet, wireless service disrupted from fiber cut in Gilroy, Calif.
3. Netflix drops Silverlight in favor of HTML5
This week's sponsor is Coveo. |  | eBook:
How to Get a Return on Knowledge in a Big Data World
Learn how to get put your organization's collective knowledge in the hands of your service reps using advanced enterprise search technology - and watch your service performance improve and customer satisfaction soar. Download Now! |
Cord shaver: Why I dropped ESPN and HBO
As a reporter who has earned a living for the last 17 years writing about cable, it's not easy to admit that I no longer subscribe to ESPN and HBO, two of the earliest cable programmers responsible for driving the most subscriber growth and profits for the industry. Dropping HBO was the easier move. I've cut the premium network a few other times over the years, only to restore it to watch new seasons of originals like John Adams and Entourage. But since my son Stephen was born last March, I haven't had time to watch more than a few minutes of Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire and other HBO originals. It didn't make sense to continue subscribing to the premium network, especially after its monthly price was raised to $18.99 in February by Verizon (NYSE: VZ), my local provider. Removing ESPN, YES Network and other sports networks from my FiOS TV subscription--as I did on Monday--was the more difficult move, logistically and emotionally. For many years, covering the sports TV business has been one of my core beats. It has given me an opportunity to do things like spend a night at ESPN's Bristol campus to tell the story of the young production assistants who pick highlights for the 2 a.m. SportsCenter. The sports TV beat took to me to the Garden to watch the Knicks play an NBA final, a World Series game at Yankee Stadium, U.S. Open Golf and Tennis championships and even a game at Giants Stadium from WWE and NBC's short-lived XFL pro football league. I've covered battles between networks for prized sports rights and the disputes that ensue when networks squeeze increased license fees from distributors to help them pay for contracts, and have attended programming demonstrations ranging from the first high-definition hockey game to the first 3DTV baseball game. Sports TV is a great beat. But I've never been a big sports fan, and have rarely watched ESPN, especially since becoming a father.  | Source: Steve Donohue | So after Verizon announced in February that it would offer subscribers a $50 monthly programming package called FiOS TV Select--which didn't include ESPN, YES and other sports networks--I started to run the numbers. Downgrading from the FiOS TV Extreme HD tier to the FiOS TV select package would save me $30 a month, or $360 a year. That's more than enough to cover a car payment, a few weeks of groceries or 1,000 diapers...Continue  Read more
Read more about: Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications
back to top | |
Today's Top News 1. DirecTV – Mariners rights deal gives team majority stake in Root Sports Northwest
DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV) said it struck a long-term rights deal with the Seattle Mariners which gives the baseball team the majority stake in Root Sports Northwest, one of its three regional sports networks. The top satellite TV provider said it'll continue to run Root Sports Northwest, which will have rights to Mariners games through 2030. The deal is valued at $2 billion, according to a report from Forbes. The New York Yankees were one of the first baseball teams to launch its own network for pay TV distribution, pulling its games in 1999 from Madison Square Garden Network, which was owned at the time by Cablevision (NYSE: CVC). News Corp. (Nasdaq: NWSA) signed a deal with the Yankees and YES last fall that could see the media giant acquire an 80 percent stake in YES. The Mariners – DirecTV deal could spark carriage disputes with Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) and other pay TV distributors in the Northwest, as Root Sports will likely demand increased license fees when its contracts come up for renewal. Several pay TV distributors have started charging subscribers additional monthly fees to cover the costs of regional sports networks, including DirecTV, Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and Cablevision. DirecTV announced in February that it would begin charging about 5 million subscribers $3 monthly surcharges for RSNs. For more:
- see the DirecTV release
- Forbes has this story Related articles:
News Corp. converting Speed Channel into Fox Sports 1
Yankees sign 30-year rights deal with YES Network
Malone: ESPN could cost $20 monthly if cable breaks up bundle
Houston mayor pressures DirecTV, Suddenlink, AT&T to sign deal with Comcast SportsNet Houston
DirecTV to hit 5 million subscribers with $3 monthly sports surcharge Read more about: Directv
back to top |
| This week's sponsor is Oracle. |  | eBook: Knowledge Management: 5 Steps to Getting it Right the First Time
This eBook sets out 5 simple steps for optimizing customer service and support with an effective, best-practice-led knowledge management initiative. Download today!
|
2. Rentrak: Free VOD usage jumped 40% in 2012
3. Fox, CBS ask appeals court to rehear Aereo case
Two weeks after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a request from Fox, CBS and other broadcasters for an injunction that would shut down Internet video platform Aereo, the broadcasters have asked the court to rehear their case. "Unless reversed, that decision will wreak commercial havoc by allowing new and existing distributors to design around this license requirement and profit from the delivery of copyrighted programming while paying nothing for it," the broadcasters wrote in their petition, which was filed on Monday. Aereo has argued that it is protected by the same copyright laws that have allowed Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) to offer its Optimum subscribers a network-based RS-DVR. Attorneys for the broadcasters argue in the petition that the court would be able to issue an order to shutter Aereo without rendering Cablevision's product illegal. "Functionally [of] the RS-DVR and Aereo are far apart. One service allows an individual cable subscriber to designate licensed programming for copying and have it played back later just to her. The other retransmits broadcast shows, live, to thousands of subscribers," attorneys for broadcasters wrote in the petition. Aereo, which began delivering a package of local TV channels to New York City residents last March, continues to expand its platform to other markets. It announced in January that it would expand this year to Chicago, Philadelphia and 20 other cities. For more:
- paidContent has this story Commentary: Could Dyle save broadcasters from Aereo? Related articles:
Broadcasters lose bid to shutter Aereo
Moonves: CBS exploring cable-only distribution to thwart Aereo
Carey: Fox mulling pay TV move if Aereo allowed to continue Read more about: Nbc
back to top |
4. Cable customer care vendor Convergys hiring 1,000 CSRs
5. DirecTV shoots original drama series 'Full Circle' for Audience Network
Also Noted SPOTLIGHT ON... Verizon to kick off Q1 2012 cable earnings Verizon is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings tomorrow, and AT&T will detail its U-verse performance during the first quarter on Friday. Check out the FierceCable Q1 earnings special report to track the performance of all of the public pay TV distributors, technology vendors, programmers and online video players. Read more Cable industry news from across the Web: > Arris said that it closed its acquisition of Motorola Mobility. News release > Digital Development Group said that Charlie Sheen invested in the company, which develops over-the-top video programming. News release > Comcast added movies from the 12th Annual Tribeca Film Festival to its Xfinity On Demand programming lineup. News release > blinkx named former Rovi executive Trent Wheeler SVP of Product. News release Telecom News > Sprint has begun offering its large business customers a new bundled service package that includes managed networking, MPLS transport, and CPE that it says will provide greater simplicity and better visibility into their networks. Article' Online Video News > For whatever reason, online video ads are being watched pretty thoroughly nowadays, with almost half of all viewers watching the entire ad, according to data compiled by media ad production company Celtra and reported by Rapid TV News. Article And finally... EchoStar's Sling Media subsidiary is pitching its Slingbox place-shifting device to shoppers looking for gifts for Father's Day and graduation season. News release > Competitive Carriers Global Expo - April 17-19 - New Orleans CCA is the premier trade show and conference for the competitive mobile ecosystem and brings together decision-makers for networking, learning and sharing best practices. CCA is the nation's leading association for competitive wireless providers. To register www.ccaevents.org. > Fierce Innovation Awards 2012 Live Announcement of this Year's Winners - Now Available On-Demand Please join Jason Nelson, Publisher of FierceWireless, FierceTelecom, and FierceCable as we announce the winners of the Fierce Innovation Awards 2012. Click here to RSVP today.
| > eBook: Smarter Service: The Contract Center of the Future This eBook explores the challenges facing traditional contact centers and the benefits of deploying the contact center of the future. You'll find links to further resources on the final page. Download today. > eBook: How to Get a Return on Knowledge in a Big Data World Learn how to get put your organization's collective knowledge in the hands of your service reps using advanced enterprise search technology - and watch your service performance improve and customer satisfaction soar. Download Now For Free! > Whitepaper: VoLTE: Why, When and How? This whitepaper will argue that VoLTE creates a significant opportunity for operators, but warns that the evolution from existing voice services will place before them a number of serious challenges. Read More. > Research: How to Unlock Knowledge from Big, Unstructured Data to Improve Customer Service Learn how to unlock knowledge trapped in silos and systems and read how advanced enterprise search technology can put your organization's collective knowledge in the hands of your service reps. Watch your service performance improve and customer satisfaction soar. Download Now! > eBook: Advanced Advertising Revenue Set to Soar Despite expanding advertising options, cable spots still remain the most popular. This eBook explores the growth and potential of new ad platforms, citing specific real-world examples. Download for free today. > Whitepaper: Cisco Small Cell Solution: Reduce Costs, Improve Coverage Address the challenge of mobile service coverage and expand network capacity with the Cisco Licensed Small Cell Solution. Using small cells, service providers extend voice and data services to mobile subscribers while offloading traffic. Read this whitepaper today.
| > Instructional Developer II - Denver, CO - Cricket Communications Cricket Communications, a subsidiary of Leap Wireless, is the pioneer and leader in delivering innovative value-rich prepaid wireless with no long-term contracts. Responsibilities include developing eLearning content and managing all training rollouts. 5 years' experience in eLearning and training content development required. Telecommunications experience preferred...Learn More. > Need a job? Need to hire? Visit FierceWirelessJobs | |
Editor: 
No comments:
Post a Comment
Keep a civil tongue.