Another month, another retrans fee dispute. This time it’s WPEC parent company Sinclair duking it out with DirecTV over how much the media company should get for its broadcast stations.
According to Deadline, Sinclair is telling DirecTV viewers in Baltimore its station may go dark after February 28 if it can’t come to an agreement with the satellite television provider. Predictably both sides are blaming each other, Sinclair hitns DirecTV aren’t playing ball and DirecTV claims talks are productive but also that Sinclair is demanding “more than twice as much for the same programs that remain available completely free of charge over the air and online.”
The majority of Sinclair’s stations are FOX affiliates, the network that demands its affiliate stations pay them anywhere from $0.25 to $0.50 ($3-$6 yearly) or more per month per pay TV subscriber so naturally those costs are passed down the chain to cable and satellite customers.
What is it with these ridiculous disputes?
$$$
This is why I will NEVER subscribe to satellite TV (other than the fact that the picture goes to s**t if it rains harder than a light mist). These petty little bitchy disputes between the carrier and the networks. >:(
Yes. Is it me or is has this nation gotten greedier than ever before?
It doesn’t matter who your provider is, these disputes will always happen. Verizon FiOS has had a few disputes that haven’t made it in the media and some have been resolved.