As Cablevision’s 3 million customers remain without access to Fox programming, the cable operator and News Corp.-owned broadcaster take their fight to the Federal Communications Commission, which is evaluating whether the parties are negotiating a new carriage agreement in good faith (via The Hollywood Reporter). Cablevision asserts that Fox has “refused” good faith negotiations; the company could face fines if the FCC agrees. In response, Fox calls Cablevision’s accusations a “cynical” ploy to gain leverage “through government intervention.”
In related news, U.S. representative Maxine Waters wrote to FCC chairman Julius Genachowski warning that the Fox-Cablevision fight raises new questions about the proposed Comcast-NBC Universal merger (via Bloomberg). Specifically, Waters suggests a scenario in which Comcast could use its ownership of NBC to extract higher carriage fees from rival video providers.
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