• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, January 8, 2010

Do broadcast networks have the advantage over cable networks when it comes to cable system carriage negotiations?

 

If you are a cable network not connected to a big media company that owns a network, you might find this true. Future contract talks between cable networks and cable systems might get testier now that broadcast networks want to cut ahead of the negotiating line.

Look at what Tennis Channel is going through with Comcast; Versus with DirecTV; HGTV and Food Network with Cablevision Systems.

One wonders if cable systems aren't really looking to prioritize their efforts when it comes to viewers' interests -- especially since  they quickly tackled the bigger programmers' issues, such as what Time Warner and Fox resolved.

Versus has been off of DirecTV for four months now. DirecTV believes Versus' proposed rank hikes aren't warranted. NFL Network had a long standoff with the likes of Comcast and Time Warner.

It seems that cable systems are looking to do their own form of shifting some channels to a "pay" model - that is, to digital sports tiers where viewers pay an additional charge.

Many cable networks have had these issues for years. But one wonders if in the future certain niche networks will be moved to their own digital tiers. For many, this is the coming of a la carte programming.

Could niche channels, HGTV and Food Network -- those well below the big ratings radar of Fox network -- be headed in this direction?

Interestingly, strange TV business times make for strange bedfellows. Food Network's high profile "Iron Chef America: Super Chef Battle" program, in an effort to get its show seen, has gotten coverage by two New York DMA stations: WPIX-TV New York and WTXX in Hartford, CT.

There's more fun here. A number of cable systems in the New York area carry these stations, including -- you guessed it -- Cablevision Systems.

How does it feel concerning this end-around? Welcome to the second decade of the 21^st century media football game.