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TagsBY LINDA MOSS
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
UPDATED
Cablevision Systems Tuesday launched its public relations campaign against ABC Disney, which is threatening to pull its TV station WABC-TV off the cable company's lineup Sunday.
In a press release, Cablevision said it is employing a variety of direct-to-consumer tactics to alert customers to ABC Disney's plan to yank WABC off its system, including outgoing phone messages on its customer service lines, on-air guide channel banners and television messages.
"We pay more than $200 million a year to ABC Disney for their programming and now they say they will pull the plug unless Cablevision pays $40 million more in new fees for the exact same channels," Charles Schueler, Cablevision's executive vice president of communications, said in a prepared statement.
Cablevision has 900,000 customers in New Jersey, and 3.1 million total in the Tri-State area. If WABC-TV goes black, those viewers will miss the Oscar telecast Sunday, as well as fare like "Lost," "Dancing With the Stars" and "The View."ABC Disney is looking for cash compensation from Cablevision in exchange for the cable company carrying WABC-TV. The broadcaster argues that its high-rated programming is very valuable.
That's not the cable company's position.
"It is not fair to force Cablevision customers to pay a new TV tax for programming ABC Disney gives away free, both over-the-air and on the Internet," Schueler said. "In tough economic times, it is shameful that ABC Disney would hold viewers hostage by threatening to pull the plug, and we urge them to work with us to reach a fair agreement."
Cablevision urged customers to tell ABC Disney not to pull their programming by calling 1-877-NO-TV-TAX, visiting http://www.cablevision.com/abc or joining its Facebook group "Cablevision Viewers Say: No New Fees, ABC!"
WABC-TV launched its own offensive against Cablevision Tuesday, by running TV spots to alert local Cablevision subscribers in Long Island, Westchester, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and selected suburbs of Connecticut and New Jersey, that as of 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, they may no longer have access to the station "due to an unfortunate impasse in retrans negotiations."
WABC-TV is telling viewers who may be affected by this situation know they have other service options, including, as always, receiving WABC-TV free, over-the-air.
The TV spots refer consumers to www.saveABC7.com, and a toll-free number, 877-990-ABC7, for more information.
Leading up to the looming deadline, WABC-TV will also be running ads in local print, radio and online media.
WABC-TV will also run an ad this week with a letter from Rebecca Campbell, WABC-TV's president and general manager.
"With the help of our viewers, we've built ABC7 into the most-watched station in the country, and have been trying for two years to get Cablevision to acknowledge the station's value to their business," Campbell says.
"Despite our best efforts, it has now become clear that Cablevision has no intention of coming to a fair agreement," she says. "We can no longer sit back and allow Cablevision to use our shows for free while they continue to charge their customers for them. We've worked too hard and invested too many millions of dollars in programming and community outreach, to be taken advantage of any longer."
WABC-TV is also pointing out that Cablevision charges customers up to $18 a month for the broadcast basic tier, which includes WABC, and shares none of that revenue with the station.
