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How the Digital Economy Act will come between you and porn
As we approach the snap general election on June 8th, the UK government has had to get through as much important business as possible before Parliament shut down earlier today in preparation for the vote. Last week, MPs and Lords working on the Digital Economy Bill opted to forego much of the usual "ping pong" process of debating amendments and wording amongst themselves in order to get the thing passed. That "good enough" approach meant the bill became law last Thursday after receiving immediate Royal Assent. The Digital Economy Act introduces a new requirement for porn sites to verify the age of visitors, rules regarding the capping of mobile phone bills and it should help stop ticket touts from bulk-buying online. But there's a lot more to it, so here's everything you need to know.
CBS and Verizon land retransmission agreement for VOD content
FiOS TV lovers who enjoy dipping into CBS' stash of on-demand content are sure to love this. The aforesaid network and Verizon have just signed long-term retransmission-consent and program-carriage agreements that will give the operator VOD access to hit shows such as CSI and Survivor along with mobile access to select programs via V CAST. The so-called "broadened and extended" rights do not appear to include Showtime content, but they do include rights for high-definition versions of the material that the deal encompasses. And really, that's all you care about, right?
Most Belo-owned stations finally permitted for transmission on Charter
It's been a long, long time since Belo-owned stations were transmitted on Charter systems (what, two years or something now?), but the two are finally burying the hatchet before 2009... or partially burying it, anyway. According to Belo, 11 of its 15 markets can finally see Belo-owned locals in SD and HD on Charter, including KMOV-TV in St. Louis, WFAA in Dallas / Fort Worth, WCNC-TV in Charlotte and KONG-TV in Seattle / Tacoma. Few details about the actual agreement were made public, but we're just stoked that the two have finally made amends.[Thanks, Shane]
Portland, Oregon's KATU booted from DISH Network
Oh, geez. Yet another cat fight akin to something you'd see on a third-grade playground between a greedy broadcast station and a greedy carrier. Portland, Oregon's KATU -- which can be received for free over-the-air -- has been dropped from DISH Network. A message on the station's website informs citizens that it had "been in negotiations with DISH in an attempt to reach a new agreement," but sadly, "those negotiations have not yet been successful." You now the story by now -- said station asserts that the carrier charges users a fee for access, and so rightfully, some of that fee should trickle back to the channel. The carrier, on the other hand, reckons that carriage should be free since it can easily be obtained by locals via an OTA antenna. We'll keep you posted on any developments, but until then, it's OTA or bust (or DirecTV / cable, to be honest) for resident DISH customers.[Thanks, Lance and Jonny]
TWC finally launching HD WBNG-TV (CBS) in Binghamton, NY
We're genuinely, genuinely thrilled for the good people of Binghamton, New York. Despite the fact that Time Warner Cable offers up over 60 high-def stations in the area, folks have been living with an SD version of their CBS affiliate (WBNG-TV) for over two years now. That means SD NFL, SD primetime dramas, etc. At long last, users can pull down their elephant-sized antennas and tune to slot 701, as TWC and Granite Broadcasting Corporation have finally agreed to transmission terms this month. The HD feed of WBNG-TV is set to go live on December 23rd, which in our book, is not a moment too soon. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]
DISH Network, Young Broadcasting retrans dispute pulls 13 stations off the air
In yet another episode of retrans musical chairs, Young Broadcasting Inc. has yanked its 13 stations from DISH Networks satellites, demanding what is (depending on who you listen to) either a "small but fair" compensation or an excessive rate increase to continue distributing its broadcasts. No matter who you blame, the result is the same, with all the stations marked in the image above no longer available via satellite until a new agreement is reached. DISH Networks has some experience dealing with this, having worked out a deal with LIN TV earlier in the year, but judging from Young Broadcasting's straight-out-of-1995 website, they probably need whatever cash they can get.[Picture via Jason Crandall, thanks J]
Cable One / Hoak Media strike retrans deal, get ABC and NBC back on the air
For Cable One users up in Fargo, North Dakota, you've been dealing without two of your badly-needed locals in high-def for some time now. Thankfully, the torture has come to an end, as both the cable carrier and Hoak Media Corporation have come to terms on a retransmission deal. The exact outlay wasn't disclosed, but Scott Geston, general manager for Cable One, was quoted as saying that it was "beneficial to both parties." At any rate, you folks now have your ABC and NBC back, so you should probably take the opportunity to resume your life as usual.
LIN TV and Time Warner Cable strike a retransmission deal
This is one of those rare cases where the headline tells all: TWC and LIN TV have finally agreed to put their differences aside and strike a retransmission deal. In other words, those 17 LIN TV-owned local stations that have been dark for the past few weeks should be back online at any moment. LIN TV's President and Chief Executive Officer Vincent L. Sadusky was quoted as saying that it was "pleased to have reached a fair market agreement with Time Warner Cable," and he continued by calling the deal "a mutually acceptable economic agreement." While we can't imagine he said that with a straight face, we're just glad you folks won't have to rely on any more EPG trickery to watch the (possible) final game of the World Series tonight. Or tomorrow. Or whenever Philadelphia decides to stop acting like Siberia.[Image courtesy of Britannica, thanks Dayton Guy and Brian]
TWC Wisconsin offers World Series to LIN TV-area customers
My, my -- now isn't this nifty. Time Warner Cable in Northeast Wisconsin is just one of the many areas still fighting with LIN TV in an attempt to get LIN TV-owned stations back in the EPG. As you can likely guess, the World Series is being played right now on one such station (WLUK), which obviously is no longer available via TWC to NE Wisconsin subscribers. In a workaround that can only be described as brilliant, it is bringing the Fall Classic to viewers via FOX Sports Espanol (slot 70; SD only) and encouraging them to catch the English play calling through the radio. We've no clue if other TWC regions are dabbling in the same black magic, but we can't help but chuckle and offer up a round of golf claps -- this, friends, is determination at work. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Via FoxCitiesTV]
DTV coupon requests surging in LIN TV blackout markets
Here's an interesting one. While we'd say it's perfectly normal to see upticks in voucher requests from areas affected by early analog shutoff drills, this here is just bizarre. According to a release put out by the American Cable Association, an irregular surge in coupon requests has occurred in three markets where Time Warner Cable dropped LIN TV's stations after the two couldn't come to a retransmission agreement. On top of that, FCC chairman Kevin Martin has reportedly asserted that the voucher program is running out of cash, but given that this isn't the FCC's program, we'd take that as speculation more than anything. Either way, because of this blackout, it seems consumers are asking for items (and thus, cash) they probably don't even need. Look LIN TV, we know you loathe TWC, but please -- put your stations back online. Do it for the taxpayer. Do it for love.
LIN TV-owned stations go dark across many TWC systems
Reports have been flooding in from across Ohio, Indiana and Texas to confirm the cold, hard truth: LIN TV has begun removing its stations from Time Warner Cable systems. Last month, we found that the two were still in disagreement over carriage terms, with LIN TV wanting TWC to pony up to carry stations that could otherwise be fetched OTA for free. Amazingly, they let the October 2nd deadline come and go without even a stopgap deal, meaning that some locals in Dayton, Columbus, Toledo, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Austin, Green Bay, Buffalo and a handful of other cities have now vanished from TWC's EPG. In a posting made on the carrier's site, it bluntly states that LIN TV is "trying to make up for lower ratings and advertising revenue by adding fees that will fall, ultimately, on the backs of our cable customers." Granted, that's only one half of the story, but here's the bottom line: you two need to come to terms, and fast.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
TWC running out of time, could see Dayton's WDTN dropped
Same song, different chorus. LIN TV, which is notorious for asking ungodly amounts of cash from carriers in order to carry its stations, has been unable to reach an agreement with Time Warner Cable (who, to be fair, wants the channel for next-to-free) over Dayton, Ohio's WDTN. The local NBC affiliate will fall off the EPG on October 2nd unless a deal is hammered out beforehand, and according to a recent notice put up on the channel's website, the companies have been going at it for the past two months in an attempt to lock down a long-term carriage agreement that includes both analog and high-definition signals. Judging by history, we have all ideas an agreement will be stumbled upon at the eleventh hour, but don't be shocked to see your rates creep up ever-so-slightly in order to pay for it. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, Dayton Guy]
Jefferson City's KRCG returns to DISH Network in HD
For Jefferson City-area DISH Network subscribers not positioned anywhere near the KRCG-TV tower, the past few months have been extraordinarily long. On July 2nd, the channel was removed from the satcaster's lineup after talks failed regarding a retransmission agreement. Thankfully, cooler heads have at long last prevailed, and as of last week it has rejoined the lineup in spectacular high-definition. The deal between DISH and Barrington Broadcasting Group, the station's parent company, also paves the way for DISH to launch two more of its stations this month: WEYI (NBC) in Flint, Michigan and KHQA-DT (ABC) in Quincy, Illinois. Oh, happy days.[Thanks, Joshua]
LIN TV strikes retransmission agreement with Comcast
As our eagle-eyed tipster Doug so eloquently put it, we too aren't sure how this one got overlooked. In the midst of LIN TV hammering out deals with DirecTV, Charter, SuddenLink and DISH Network, this particular deal managed to slip through the cracks. Nevertheless, the media company has indeed entered into an agreement with Comcast to keep locals in 15 markets on the air. For specifics on which markets we're referring to, check out the second paragraph in the read link.[Thanks, Doug]
Charter, LIN TV reach retrans agreement
Charter customers in 11 LIN TV-owned markets can breathe a sigh of relief, the cable company and broadcaster have reached an agreement in principle that should allow them to continue to carry the stations' programming. Check the original post for the affected areas, however since your TV stations won't be going dark June 30, there's no real hurry. Always great when an agreement can be reached and no one has to miss even a second of that sweet, sweet HDTV.
LIN TV and DirecTV reach retransmission agreement
LIN TV sure does take these retransmission agreements seriously, and while it seems that things aren't going so great between it and Charter, all is well with DirecTV. The recent agreement covers television stations "owned and / or operated by LIN TV in 15 markets," including networks in Albuquerque, Austin, Buffalo, Dayton, Grand Rapids, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Springfield, Providence, Norfolk, Toledo, Mobile, Hartford-New Haven and Ft. Wayne. Of course, we never really heard that there was any discord between these two parties in particular, but it's good to see all systems are go at least for the foreseeable future.
LIN TV-owned stations disappearing from Charter June 30?
Prepare for another round of affiliate owner/cable network squabbles, as LIN TV has announced negotiations with Charter Communications "appear unlikely" to result in a retrans agreement, and that cable customers in Grand Rapids, Green Bay, Hartford-New Haven, Springfield (Mass), Dayton, Providence and Toledo can expect affected stations to be pulled from the lineup when the current agreement expires June 30. Of course LIN TV is taking the opportunity to educate customers about DISH Network where the stations are available courtesy of their recent agreement. Check after the break for a list of potentially affected stations while we hope for an 11th hour reprieve, although with the two sides at odds over what "fair market value" of digital signal is, we're not confident this will turn out any better than the 4 month break Suddenlink customers experienced earlier this year. (Warning: PDF read link.)
Suddenlink, LIN TV reach retrans deal, restore KXAN & KBIM
New Years Day was a sad one for cable customers served by Suddenlink and LIN TV, when their previous retransmission consent agreement expired, KXAN-TV (NBC) in Austin and KBIM-TV (CBS) in Albuquerque went dark. Three months later, they've come to terms and restored the channels to 30,000 affected customers. No word on what it took, but LIN TV claims all subscription services have to recognize "fair market value" of its stations. (Warning: PDF read link.)
