At midnight on Dec. 31, both Food Network and HGTV (owned by Scripps Networks) were dropped from Cablevision’s lineups, a result of both companies failing to come to a carriage agreement. Scripps says its channels are among the most watched, and yet paid among the lowest rates in the industry.
On Jan. 1, Scripps released a statement saying, “The rates we are seeking represent a very modest increase when you consider that Food Network and HGTV are among the top networks in all of cable.”
Scripps says Cablevision pays them about 25 cents per customer for both of the channels combined. They called on viewers to contact Cablevision with the hopes of getting the channels back on air. Scripps says within 24 hours Cablevision received 120,000 viewer calls.
But Cablevision wasn’t hearing it. On the same day they issued a release saying: “We wish Scripps well and have no expectation of carrying their programming again, given the dramatic changes in their approach to working with distributors to reach television viewers.”
As of today the channels still have not be turned on for subscribers.
Cablevision serves 3 million subscribers in the New York, Long Island and Tri-State region.
