Cablevision Loses WABC Channel 7...Customers want change!

Added: (Sun Mar 07 2010)

Pressbox (Press Release) - Cablevision's 3.1 million customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have lost access to Channel 7.

WABC-TV pulled the station from Cablevision at midnight Saturday in a dispute over re-transmission fees. After two years of negotiations, the two sides were unable to reach an agreement.

"Cablevision has once again betrayed its subscribers by losing ABC7, the most popular station in the tri-state area. This follows two years of negotiations, during which we worked diligently, up to the final moments, to reach an agreement. Cablevision pocketed almost $8 billion last year, and now customers aren't getting what they pay for -- again. It's time for Jim Dolan and the Dolan Family Dynasty to finally step up, be fair, and do what's right for our viewers," WABC-TV president and general manager Rebecca Campbell said in a statement.


WABC Cablevision customers in Long Island, Westchester, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and selected suburbs of Connecticut and New Jersey are impacted.

For more information, visit www.saveABC7.com or call 1-877-990-ABC7.

Cable systems are allowed to re-transmit Channel 7 under a negotiated, written contract.

At issue is the amount of money WABC-TV is paid for its programming. Although Cablevision already pays other programmers, Channel 7 is not paid.

Cablevision has argued that Disney, which owns WABC-TV, receives more than $200 million a year for programming such as ESPN.

Channel 7 maintains that Cablevision subscribers are already paying up to 18 dollars a month for basic broadcast service, but Cablevision does not pass along any of that money to WABC-TV.

The dispute is similar to a standoff at the end of last year between News Corp. and Time Warner Cable over how much Fox television station signals were worth. That tussle, which threatened the college football bowl season and new episodes of "The Simpsons," was resolved without a signal interruption.

Cablevision also feuded with Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. in a January dispute that temporarily forced the Food Network and HGTV off the service. Neither side provided terms of an agreement that restored the channels after three weeks.

The removal of WABC-TV from Cablevision comes ahead of the Academy Awards on Sunday night at 8:00.

If you are a Cablevision customer, you will still be able to watch Channel 7 for free without Cablevision. You will need to get a digital antenna and hook it up to your t-v.

If you are still watching on an analog television, you also need to pick up a converter box from stores like Target or Best Buy. A converter box will cost you about 40 dollars. (CLICK FOR MORE INFORMATION)

You can also consider switching cable providers or getting satellite t-v. (Retrieved from www.7online.com on 3/7/2010). Switch to DISH Network Today: http://www.TheOnlyDish.com