Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable might lose ESPN in time for football season
ESPN is the content creator that cable and satellite providers love to hate. On one hand ESPN and, its sister networks, are the only reason some people even subscribe to pay TV, and on the other it is also the most expensive -- those who don't like sports are obviously caught in the middle, paying for some of the most expensive programming, whether they like it or not. Well today we noticed an ad on our site -- no, the contributors of the site have no clue or connection of what ads show up -- by ESPN that notify Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable customers that the current contract ends on September 2nd (although separate companies, the two negotiate carriage deals together to gain leverage). The banner ad leads customers to I Have Choices.com to tell them the alternative providers they can use to ensure they continue to receive ESPN and displays a short video explaining ESPN's position. Without a new deal this would of course mean the channels could go dark just in time to miss the 2010 college football kickoff on September 4th on ABC (one of the networks involved in the dipute). This is old news to those in the industry, in fact you might even remember the when Time Warner launched its own site Roll Over or Get Tough when it looked like Fox might get pulled from said companies just in time to miss the BCS Bowl Games earlier this year. We feel sorry for all of those who might be affected, but at the same time have no lost love for neither cable company.
