Cablevision and Fox in yet another Television fee dispute

Weekend baseball available on Cablevision Fox channels might get turned off if the two companies cannot come to an agreement over costs. This is just the latest within the string of disputes over content licensing fees. Midnight on Friday is the deadline for the two corporations to come to an agreement. This is one more debate over what, exactly, content is worth.

Cablevision and Fox fighting over costs

The price Cablevision is willing to pay for the content that Fox is going to be providing is where the Cablevision and Fox dispute begins. For 12 channels, Cablevision has to pay Fox Television $70 million each and every year. This year, NewsCorp which owns Fox TV has asked for $150 million for the same selection. Fox TV will not be accessible to Cablevision customers if the amount is not paid. That is what NewsCorp promises.

The Cablevision/Fox argument in arbitration

The price of content causing an argument is something that Cablevision thinks arbitration ought to fix. Fox does not agree. Fox claims that arbitration will never be something it enters into. Fox and Newscorp explained why this is a bad idea. It would “reward Cablevision for refusing to negotiate fairly.” Customers of Cablevision won’t be able to watch the 12 Fox channels anymore if the dispute isn’t fixed by midnight on Friday.

The question of content benefit

The real question behind the Cablevision and Fox dispute is the value of content. Cable television companies are supposed to be giving customers programming content they want. It’s significant to get content licensed. That is what the cable business is about. This makes other things possible. Content hostage is what content creators get to hold. Only two cable TV providers are accessible to customers in most places. This is why there is practically a monopoly with the business. Should content providers be able to set any price for content, or is television a public service that, like some New York representatives are claiming, should be more carefully price-controlled?

Data from

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/35747720/ns/business-media_biz/

Physorg

physorg.com/news/2010-10-cablevision-fox-dispute-affect-baseball.html