Oscar Fans Are The Losers In Cablevision's Fight With ABC
Millions of movie lovers in New York are going to need a friend or know a neighborhood bar with satellite television if they want to watch tonight's Academy Awards. A dispute between Cablevision and WABC-TV in New York resulted in an interruption of the local ABC affiliate's signal to cable subscribers in the Big Apple.
As the licensing dispute led to a full service breakdown, the station was posting statements from its President and General Manager, Rebecca Campbell, on Saveabc7.com. Campbell was quoted as saying, "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."
Cablevision and Disney, parent of WABC7, have both applied pressure through political channels to bring the stand-off to an end so consumers can enjoy one of the most popular nights in live broadcast television. The FCC has even indicated it is monitoring the situation, although they have not rallied a last minute save of the Academy Awards show. Many consumers, as a result, may abandon cable altogether and move to satellite, having just gone through a similar blackout experience when Cablevision yanked Food Network/HGTV this past January.
Other businesses also stand to gain from the feud. On Twitter, Verizon's Fios service seemed likely to acquire some new subscribers. Fans like @daglucks wrote, "Well Cablevision, you lost my viewership. Tomorrow I make the Fios call. Ask yourselves, if it was worth it."
UPDATE: Twenty minutes after the Oscar broadcast began, Cablevision gave movie fans back their favorite night of television, restoring the WABC7 signal for its millions of subscribers.
Follow Technorati