A National Issue

TV Blackouts Will Only Get Worse (Nov. 2018)

Signal disruptions, or blackouts, spiked in the U.S. last year. They involved 29 TV stations and more than 200 markets were affected, according to the American Television Alliance.

American TV Alliance Warns of Blackouts (Aug. 2018)

Football always seems to bring out the retrans fireworks, so much so that the American TV Alliance sent out a missive warning consumers of a potential #blackoutblitz timed to football kickoffs and MLB post-season play.

Small cable companies want DOJ to reinvestigate Comcast’s merger with NBC (Nov. 2018)

The request to the Justice Department by Comcast’s rivals adds renewed pressure on the agency to revisit Comcast’s 2011 merger with NBC, a deal that critics said opened up numerous opportunities for anticompetitive misconduct.

Dispute With Dish Network Blacks Out Tegna Stations (Dec. 2018)

Tegna and Dish Network were unable to renew their retransmission consent agreement and the broadcaster’s 47 stations were blacked out to Dish’s subscribers.

Comcast bills will rise 3.3 percent, but check your fees. That’s where the hikes hit hardest. (Nov. 2018)

Xfinity customers face a 3.3 percent higher bill starting in December or January as Comcast Corp. boosts fees for broadcast television networks, regional sports channels, adapters for additional cable-connected televisions, and internet modems. Comcast points to increased programming costs, especially associated with sports coverage, for the price raise.

AT&T Drops beIn Sports From Channel Lineup (Aug. 2018)

AT&T’s DirecTV and DirecTV Now services have dropped beIN Sports from their channel lineups in a fee dispute. The blackout follows a similar move made by Comcast at the beginning of August. Verizon's Fios also dropped beIN channels earlier this month.

After Profitable 2017, Altice USA hikes Optimum prices (May 2018)

Altice USA is hiking cable TV prices as of the June billing period, covering everything from installation fees it charges new customers to the surcharges it tacks on monthly for broadcast channels and other programming. ... Altice USA representatives stated the changes reflect the rising cost of programming and the company’s ongoing investments.

Altrice USA Drops Starz from its Cable Systems (Jan. 2018)

Altice USA dropped pay premium service Starz from its Optimum cable systems over the weekend. The decision follows what the cable company called “numerous attempts” to secure a deal with the premium service, a division of Lionsgate.

Charter Will be Raising Rates on Spectrum TV, Internet Services in November (Oct. 2018)

Charter will raise the price of Spectrum TV and internet services in November. The increase “reflects costs incurred from local broadcast TV stations” as well as faster download speeds.