Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - For the 3rd time in the past two years, Time Warner cable is in a very public contract dispute. This time, with the Disney Company, who could pull a dozen stations, including ESPN, from their lineup if a deal isn't reached.
The cable company is airing commercials, and
promoting a website, asking customers whether to "roll over" and pay higher rates, or "get tough" and hold out. Verizon, is now running competing spots trying to lure in customers, sick of dealing with the threat of losing their favorite channels.
Disney, meanwhile is also
bringing their fight online with a website that offers Time Warner customers information about changing providers.
At stake are the ESPN family of networks, including ESPN , ESPN 2, ESPNews, ESPN Game Plan, ESPN Full Court, ESPNU, ESPN Classic and ESPN Deportes, The Disney Channel, ABC Family and SoapNet could also go dark. Time Warner and Disney have until September 2 to reach a deal and keep delivering the stations to customers.
"Sports programming by it's very nature is expensive, it's expensive to produce, the agreements to license it are expensive," said Time Warner Cable representative Jeff Unaitis. "Is it the most expensive? I can't tell you for sure, but I can tell you it's one of the most popular that's out there, so we understand customers want as much of it as we can give them."
Time Warner says it all comes down to how much consumers are willing to pay. For every dollar the cable company collects, 40-cents goes to programmers like Disney and 54-cents is kept by the cable company to cover costs. The remaining six-cents are profit.
Over the past few years, negotiations on other contracts have gone straight up to the deadline. Nearly two years ago it happened with Viacom and the MTV networks, and just last year with Fox. Viewers thought they might lose programming on those channels but at the last minute, the two sides came to a deal.
At this point, sports lovers don't need to worry about missing the big event. These kinds of negotiations are part of a different game, normally held behind closed doors between big companies.
"In the past these conversations took place perhaps in a vacuum and you didn't hear about it, now people are blogging, twittering, posting on forums, it's harder to keep it under wraps," said Unaitis.
And even when deals are reached, the terms are not normally disclosed to the public so the only time we'll find out whether Time Warner "Rolled Over" or "Got Tough" will be when our rate information for next year appears in our mailboxes.
