When the broadcast networks first sued Aereo over allegations of copyright infringement, the TV-streaming service was only available in the New York City area. In the short time since, it has expanded to Boston, Miami, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, and Salt Lake City, with plans to add around 20 more markets in the coming months. In a move that seems intended to preempt this growth, the networks are reportedly asking for their case to get Supreme Court attention ASAP. [More]
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Exxon Sues FXX To Protect Its Good Name From Being Associated With Basic Cable
By 10.3.13
There are plenty of reasons to poke fun at Twentieth Century Fox’s new, completely unnecessary FXX network, but it’s unfair to pick on a channel that only has a single decent show (which had to be imported from FX). That hasn’t stopped ExxonMobil from taking a break from profiteering and polluting to sue Fox and FXX for having the gall to make a seemingly obvious logo design choice when presented with two consecutive Xs. [More]
Aereo Announces Launch Dates For Service In Miami, Houston, Dallas
By 8.8.13
Even while it’s being sued by all the major broadcast networks, video-streaming service Aereo continues to expand into new markets with the announcement today of launch dates for customers in the Miami, Houston, and Dallas/Ft. Worth areas. [More]
Dish Wins Another Battle In War Over Ad-Skipping Hopper DVR
By 7.25.13
Though the legal battle between broadcasters and Dish Network over the satellite provider’s Hopper DVR — which completely skips the ad breaks on recorded, prime-time network programming — is far from over, Dish pulled out an important victory yesterday when a federal appeals panel decided not to issue a preliminary injunction against the Hopper service. [More]
No Sale For Hulu… For Now
By 7.12.13
In recent months, there have been numerous rumors that companies like Yahoo, DirecTV, and AT&T were interested in buying video-streaming service Hulu, which is currently owned by the unholy trinity of FOX, NBC, and Disney. But today, the trio of owners confirmed they are staying put and will actually pump some more of their own money into the business. [More]
Networks To FCC: No One’s Watching Our Shows, So Stop Being So Uptight About Decency Standards
By 6.21.13
Remember the days when basic cable was considered a joke and all the real shows were on the broadcast networks? Back in those days, it sort of made sense that the FCC might care about things like bad language, nudity (and supposedly violence, though that never really seemed to be an issue) on network TV. But now, with the majority of viewers spending their TV-watching time glued to basic cable shows featuring loudmouthed, obnoxious, hateful, “real” people shouting at each other in between commercials, the networks are asking the FCC to lighten the heck up. [More]
How Not To React To Internet Criticism: The Epic Facebook Meltdown Of Amy’s Baking Company
By 5.14.13 — Updated: 5.16.13
It appears that the owners of Amy’s Baking Company in Arizona expected an appearance on celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s “Kitchen Nightmares” program to vindicate them. They believed that they serve quality food, that they have been unfairly slandered by the entire Internet. Maybe they had never seen the reality program, which features last-ditch efforts to save failing restaurants run by people who are delusional or incompetent…and frequently both. [More]
Fox Mistakenly Thinks NFL Fans Don’t Like Watching Blowouts, Mocks Them For Getting Angry
By 11.25.12
This afternoon, football fans all around the country are supposed to be finishing their holiday by watching their favorite teams beat the living crud out of each other. But for some reason, the programmers at Fox think that football viewers have no rooting interests and just want to watch a competitive game. Fox is mistaken. [More]
Dish Tweaks Ad-Skipping DVR Service To Be More Broadcaster-Friendly
By 7.27.12
Back when Dish Network first released its AutoHop ad-skipping DVR feature, the service automatically recorded prime-time network broadcasts so that viewers could watch all their favorite NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox shows at a later date without having to fast-forward through commercial breaks. But now that Dish has been sued by those same broadcasters, AutoHop is slightly less “auto.” [More]
The Legal Battle Begins Over Dish's Ad-Skipping DVR
By 5.25.12
As was predicted when Dish Network announced its Hopper DVR would allow users to skip commercials on recorded prime-time network TV shows, the so-called “holy grail for TV viewers” has ended up in court, with both sides racing to sue each other. [More]
Fox And DirecTV Kiss & Make-Up Hours Before Blackout Deadline
By 10.31.11
With only a few hours to go until a retransmission fee dispute would have left DirecTV subscribers unable to watch a number of Fox cable channels, the two sides have put away their swords and decided to work out a deal. [More]
DirecTV Accuses Fox Of Misleading TV Viewers
By 10.27.11
If you’ve watched sporting events on Fox in the last week, you’ve likely spotted an ad from News Corp. alerting DirecTV customers that “soon, in some markets, you may lose your local Fox station” as a result of the ongoing contract dispute between the broadcaster and the satellite company. But these TV spots aren’t going over well with the folks at DirecTV who have complained to the FCC that Fox is misleading customers. [More]
DirecTV Theatens To Boot Fox Cable Channels Over Contract Dispute
By 10.21.11
The beauty of signing up subscribers to two-year contracts is you can threaten networks to yank their channels off the air without worrying about anyone canceling their service. Engaged in contact negotiations with DirecTV, Fox says the satellite provider has rejected its latest offer and threatened to pull its programming off the service Nov. 1 if Fox doesn’t accept its terms. [More]
Fox TV Putting New Episodes Behind Online Paywall
By 7.27.11
Because people don’t hate Rupert Murdoch and News Corp enough right now, Fox TV has announced that the only way online users will soon be able to access new episodes of its shows is to prove that they are paying cable, Hulu Plus or satellite subscribers. [More]
Comcast Customers Now Have On-Demand Access To Prime-Time Shows From All Networks (Except The CW)
By 4.29.11
In an effort to actually provide its hordes of unhappy customers with something useful for their cable dollar, Comcast has announced that it has made deals to bring almost every prime-time network show to its on-demand lineup. [More]
Could An NFL Lockout Force Networks To Run Even More Ads?
By 1.12.11
Now that the NFL’s postseason is in full swing (even though my beloved Eagles were so quickly eliminated), it’s time for many to start wondering if owners and players will be able to resolve their problems before the start of the next season. If not, the biggest losers could end up being the networks and, by extension, TV viewers — whether they watch football or not. [More]
Super Bowl Ad Slots Already Sold Out
By 11.1.10
If you were hoping to spend millions advertising your business during the Super Bowl (which will certainly be a face-off of the ages between the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills), you are out of luck. According to Fox, they’ve already sold out all the available ad slots for the Feb. 6, 2011 event. [More]
Cablevision & Fox Put Differences Aside, Work Together To Screw Customers
By 10.30.10
Just in time for Game 3 of a World Series that very few people in its viewing audience care seriously about, Cablevision and Fox have ended their two-week standoff. Which means Cablevision customers will have Fox stations back on the air — and they’ll be paying more for them! [More]
