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Will LIN TV Stations Go Dark On Time Warner Cable?

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday May 23, 2013 @ 10:23am PDTTags: Bright House Networks, LIN TV, Time Warner Cable

The broadcaster has begun to warn more than 1.5M viewers in 14 markets that its stations could disappear from Time Warner Cable and Bright House Network systems at the end of next week unless the companies reach a new retransmission consent agreement. Stations at risk include LIN TV‘s NBC, CW, and MyNetworkTV affiliates in Austin; CBS and CW stations in Buffalo, NY; NBC and CW outlets in Dayton, OH; and Fox and CW stations in Green Bay, WI. The two cable companies account for about 20.6% of LIN’s viewers, according to SNL Kagan data. LIN says on its Buffalo CBS affiliate’s website that “It costs a substantial amount of money to produce local programming, bid for top-quality programming, invest in high-definition, and make other upgrades to equipment and technology so we can deliver a superior product.” It adds in a statement that it wants “less than what Time Warner pays for many of its cable networks with far lower ratings.” But Time Warner Cable spokesman Jon Gary Herrera says that LIN is asking for a 50% rate hike, “a very steep increase from a contract negotiated two years ago.” Stations and pay TV companies typically settle retransmission consent disputes at the eleventh hour. But LIN’s stations were blacked out on Time Warner Cable for 25 days in fall 2008 when negotiations reached an impasse.

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Moody’s: Dreary Prospects For TV Stations Despite 2012 Pop From Political Ads

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday February 1, 2012 @ 9:37am PSTTags: Gray Television, LIN TV, Media General, Nexstar, Sinclair Broadcasting

It will take years before most ad sales will hit the peaks that TV stations saw in 2007, Moody’s Investors Service analyst Carl Salas says this morning in an industry report. Local businesses have been slow to increase their spending after the economy tanked in 2008 and 2009 — and now broadcasters must compete for those dollars against websites, social media, digital displays and other emerging media. Sure, stations will see some extra cash from retransmission consent deals with pay TV providers. But it won’t be a windfall: Major networks are demanding reverse compensation agreements from their affiliates, giving the national broadcasters much of the dough collected by the stations that they used to pay to carry their programs. Read More »

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Media Stocks Join Market Exuberance Over Effort To Stabilize Banking System

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday November 30, 2011 @ 3:29pm PSTTags: CBS, Comcast, Disney, Entercom, LIN TV, Netflix, News Corp, Sony, Standard & Poor's, Stock Market, The New York Times Company, Time Warner, Viacom, Westwood One

The benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 4.3% today after central banks in the U.S., Europe, and Japan said that they’d help supply cash to avoid a credit crunch if the European debt crisis worsens. That … Read More »

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Report: TV Stations Face Cash Flow Woes As Networks Demand Rising Payments

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Tuesday November 29, 2011 @ 9:44am PSTTags: ABC, Belo Corp, CBS, Fox, Gray Television, LIN TV, NBC, Nexstar, Retransmission Consent Fees, Sinclair Broadcasting

Station groups including Belo, Gray Television, LIN Media, NexStar Broadcasting, and Sinclair Broadcast face a big problem after next year’s elections when the cash from political ads evaporates: Their revenues and cash flow could plummet as they’re forced to … Read More »

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Media Stocks Hit By Market Fears Of Impasse Over U.S. Debt Cuts

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday November 21, 2011 @ 12:50pm PSTTags: Barnes & Noble, CBS, Cinedigm, Comcast, Crown Media, Dish Network, Disney, E.W. Scripps, Entercom, LIN TV, Live Nation, McClatchy, McGraw-Hill, National CineMedia, Netflix, Radio One, RealD, Sirius XM, Sony, Time Warner, Viacom, Westwood One

The federal government will have to slash $1.2T in spending, mostly beginning in 2013, if the 12-member congressional Super Committee can’t strike a deficit reduction deal soon. They still appear split — even though, as a practical matter, … Read More »

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Media Stocks Suffer As Investors Fear Ad Sales Will Weaken

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday October 3, 2011 @ 2:49pm PDTTags: CBS, Coinstar, Comcast, Crown Media, Cumulus Media, Disney, Entercom, LIN TV, Live Nation, News Corp, Pandora Media, Radio One, Regal Entertainment Group, Sony, Time Warner Cable, Viacom, Westwood One, Yahoo

The Dow Jones U.S. Media Index was down 3.5% today while the DJ Industrial Average was off 2.4% — and Goldman Sachs may have contributed to the imbalance: It downgraded the entertainment sector today to “neutral” from “attractive” … Read More »

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Media Stocks -5.4% As Fresh Data Suggest The Economy Continues To Weaken

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday August 18, 2011 @ 12:13pm PDTTags: Amazon, Cablevision, CBS, Cinedigm, Coinstar, Comcast, Discovery Communications, Disney, Entercom, Gannett, IMAX, LIN TV, Lionsgate, Live Nation Entertainment, McClatchy, McGraw-Hill, Netflix, News Corp, Pandora Media, Radio One, Scripps Networks Interactive, Sinclair Broadcasting, Sony, Stock Market, Time Warner, TiVo, Viacom, Washington Post

The bears are back. After a relatively calm week, stocks prices across the board — including in media — are tanking today following reports that point to rising unemployment and inflation, and weakness in manufacturing. An hour before … Read More »

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UPDATE: Media Stocks Down, But With Exceptions, As Overseas Debt Fears Grow

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday August 10, 2011 @ 8:59am PDTTags: AOL, Disney, E.W. Scripps, Gannett, LIN TV, Lionsgate, Live Nation, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, NASDAQ, New York Stock Exchange, Rovi, Standard & Poor's, The New York Times, Time Warner Cable, Westwood One

UPDATE 4:10 PM: The markets couldn’t sustain an early afternoon rally amid concerns that France might lose its AAA debt rating and that Spain or Italy might default on payments. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell … Read More »

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UPDATE: Media Stocks End Day -7.3% As Markets Grapple With S&P’s Debt Downgrade

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday August 8, 2011 @ 11:22am PDTTags: AMC Networks, Barnes & Noble, Cablevision, CBS, Coinstar, Comcast, Dow Jones, DreamWorks Animation, Entercom, Liberty Media, LIN TV, McClatchy, McGraw-Hill, News Corp, Pandora Media, Rovi, Sinclair Broadcasting, Sirius XM, Sony, Time Warner, TiVo, Viacom, Westwood One

UPDATE, 2 PM: The market deteriorated as the day wore on, continuing the worst market slump since 2008. The Dow Jones U.S. Broadcasting and Entertainment Index closed down 7.3% — exceeding the 5.6% decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, 6.7% drop in the Standard & Poor’s 500, and 6.9% fall at NASDAQ.  CBS’ -10.3% slide made it the leading loser among media’s Big Guns. It was followed by News Corp (-7.7%), Viacom (-7.1%), Comcast (-6.6%), Sony (-6.4%), Disney (-6.1%), and Time Warner (-5.8%).

Double-digit losers include AMC Networks (-12.8%), LIN TV (-12.7%), Sirius XM (-12.7%), RealD (-12.6%), Cumulus Media (-11.9%), TiVo (-11.4%), Entercom (-10.9%), Westwood One (-10.8%), and E.W. Scripps (-10.3%). Those losing at least 9% include National CineMedia, Dish Network, Arbitron, Sinclair Broadcasting, Rovi, Outdoor Channel, Crown Media, Electronic Arts, Cablevision, and Coinstar. Read More »

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