Just before the Oscars, too! For people who want to watch WABC in New York City, get out your analog-to-digital converter. After years of arguing between one of the world’s biggest content companies and a company that just turned a well-regarded regional paper into a loss leader, ABC/Disney and Cablevison have hit an impasse. The loser? The viewers. Here’s a recap of the whining on both sides:
In one corner: Disney “Cablevision has once again betrayed its subscribers by losing ABC7, the most popular station in the tri-state area. This follows two years of negotiations, during which we worked diligently, up to the final moments, to reach an agreement. Cablevision pocketed almost $8 billion last year, and now customers aren’t getting what they pay for…again.”
In the other: Cablevision “It is now painfully clear to millions of New York area households that Disney CEO Bob Iger will hold his own ABC viewers hostage in order to extract $40 million in new fees from Cablevision. We call on Bob Iger to immediately return ABC to Cablevision customers while we continue to work to reach a fair agreement.” source
The sting of the American Music Awards is just a little too much for ABC, but that isn’t deterring rival CBS from getting in on some simulated fellatio action.
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Avoiding ACORN While admitting that what he saw on the prostitution video was distasteful on ABC’s “This Week,” we’ve never seen Obama so quick to avoid answering a question, ever.
Avoiding ACORN While admitting that what he saw on the prostitution video was distasteful on ABC’s “This Week,” we’ve never seen Obama so quick to avoid answering a question, ever.
On health care’s tone Why is the health care debate so vitriolic? On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Obama attacks the 24-hour news cycle, saying that controversy the media’s driving factor.
Avoiding ACORN While admitting that what he saw on the prostitution video was distasteful on ABC’s “This Week,” we’ve never seen Obama so quick to avoid answering a question, ever.
On health care’s tone Why is the health care debate so vitriolic? On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Obama attacks the 24-hour news cycle, saying that controversy the media’s driving factor.
No Illegal Immigrants On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Obama says illegal immigration is an enforcement issue – one easily solved by verification. There’s a nice rip on the GOP at the end.
Someday, this boy will watch this video on YouTube and realize how much of a jerk he really was to this woman who was simply trying to get him to eat healthy. The best part of the video was when he said she couldn’t run in her high heels.source
These repeated interruptions – and the rumor of even more to come – really make it difficult to build audience flow and loyalty. We will all lose one or two million dollars for this.
A (obviously anonymous) network executive • On the fact that Barack Obama has the gall to request another nation address on “American Idol” Tuesday! I mean, what the heck? It’s not like anyone else is struggling. (ABC, by the way, will be preempting episodes of “According to Jim,” which we’re surprised is still on the air, just like everyone else besides Jim Belushi.) • source