Cablevision customers woke up to TV sets without ABC after talks broke down between the two companies over licensing fees.
Cablevision has now proposed binding arbitration to decide the matter, but ABC does not seem to be in favor of that route.
“Instead of issuing statements about arbitration, it would be more constructive for Cablevision to deal with the offer that’s on the table,” ABC said in a statement.
ABC said it sent its own proposal to Cablevision around 2:30pm Eastern time.
What’s going on? Cable companies like Cablevision must pay networks for the right to air their content. ABC claims that Cablevision charges its customers for access to ABC, but does not pass any of that money on to ABC. Cablevision says it pays Disney – which owns ABC – about $200 million per year to broadcast all of its content, but ABC now wants an additional $40 million.
Earlier this month, ABC said it would pull its shows from Cablevision if a deal was not reached by March 7, and it made good on that promise at midnight last night.
The move comes just hours before ABC is set to air the Academy Awards, potentially ruining a few Oscar parties in the tri-state area.
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