KARK To Be Dropped From WHECO Cable Systems?
This from KARK.com:
"Open Letter from the General Manager of KARK to Cable Customers living in Hot Springs, Pine Bluff, and Camden:
Dear Cable Customers:
KARK is strongly committed to serving the public and keeping you informed. You may have seen our information crawl stating that KARK may not be on your cable system at year end. That is True.
On December 31st, cable customers in the above locations may lose access to KARK and NBC programming at midnight. Our retransmission agreement with WEHCO for all their cable systems in our viewing area will expire, and we have been unable to come to terms with your cable company for the continued carriage of our station. See below for an exact list of the name of your cable company.
Cable customers living in Hot Springs, Pine Bluff, and Camden have several choices for replacing the services you currently receive from your cable company, including video service from Dish Network or DirecTV.
WEHCO, like all cable and satellite companies, makes payments to the companies that own and operate programming networks. They pay the owners of the programming channels monthly fees, ranging as high as several dollars per month for the right to carry the programming. Your cable company has made it very clear they do not want to pay any fees for the rights to carry KARK. You should also know that WEHCO owns the following newspapers: Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Arkansas Camden News, and Arkansas Sentinel Record in Hot Springs.
We truly regret the inconvenience this dispute may cause subscribers living in Hot Springs, Pine Bluff, and Camden. We will continue to work hard at providing the very best local news, weather, sports and public affairs programming to our viewers, no matter how they might view our signal.
Thanks for your support and keep watching KARK!
Rick Rogala
Vice President & General Manager
KARK-TV"
DCG comments: I live in Prescott and I subscribe to the cable service which is owned by WHECO media and for the past few weeks KARK programming has been blacked-out by programming from KTAL, the Nexstar NBC affiliate in Shreveport. One can only assume eventually KARK will be gone from Hope Community TV also. And we down here in Southwest Arkansas and on cable could be dealt a double blow IF Nexstar demands payment for the KARK signal AND the KTAL signal.
posted by ATN @ 9:06 PM
18 comments
18 Comments:
That's hilariously funny... because the exact same letter (with changes to the city names, obviously) is at the site of its sister station in Saint Joseph, MO.
Did they all decide to roll this out at the same time?
Well I live in El Dorado and the only Arkansas stations I receive on my cable system is KATV and AETN.. We have KTBS, KAQY (ABC affiliate in Monroe...horrible) KATV, KNOE (CBS affiliate in Monroe), KETG, and KTVE KTVE is the NBC affiliate in El Dorado/Monroe... absolutely horrible... they're owned by Nexstar I believe... I think it's completely stupid that our cable system has 3 ABC affiliates, one CBS and one NBC. I just wish they would put KSLA and KTHV on our lineup.... I love those two.. I'm kinda tired of having to watch KATV for "Arkansas" news.
Coverage will be dropped after midnight? WHO CARES? As long as we see Jancey on a nightly basis, it's all good !
Um, I don't think you understand the concept of dropping coverage, then.
KARK hasn't take a hit this big since they lost Alice Stewart.
How lucky are the people in these towns? They won't have to feel bad about not watching KARK's pitiful excuse for a newscast.
"Did they all decide to roll this out at the same time?
Yep. Have a look at the Nexstar duopoly in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. They're going after two cable companies up there.
Is Nexstar that strapped for cash?
Nexstar isn't just doing this for itself. It's doing this for television stations nationwide. You can bet other companies including Gannett and Albritton are watching this closely. Stations are having to find new ways to make money. They're not getting paid by the networks to carry programming like in the past. It's a matter of survival.
I agree whole-heartedly. The cable companies just sit back and collect profits for distributing someone else's product. Dish and DirecTV managage to be successful and pay TV folks per subscriber. The satellite companies will put them out of business very soon if they don't get their act together.
I don't necessarily buy that... because Nexstar has been having this same issue with stations for the last coupl'a years. If it were having that great an impact on the industry, other station groups would have already started doing it.
Retransmission fights aren't nothing new -- if I remember right, Disney had a big one with Time Warner back in the late 90s that caused NYC to go without ABC.
If it were to go away, I wouldn't make an extra effor to watch a station that fought so openly with the cable company. All those fights do is cause ill will for all parties involved.
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KARK refuses to cover important stories like this, so you ain't missin' much (current whitewash coverup):
PCSSD Fraud Watch
Pulaski County Special School District Fraud Watch
http://www.pcssdfraudwatch.blogspot.com
The truth...'cus we ain't scared.
WOW that's fraud wonder why local media isn't reporting thatstory on PCSSD Criminal violation.
Especially with a report from The Arkansas State Dept. of Education!
Looks like KARK isn't the only one burying the story. I was never impressed with Little Rocka news coverage.
I found the site on MSN search: pcssdfraudwatch
I can understand why KARK thinks it should be paid if cable pays other networks. BUT....they have to be realistic. How big a hit could KARK take if it's off the cable. The news numbers are already so low...
I guess it's possible no one will notice.
This is the same company that cancelled the rating service.
If it doesn't pay for ratings, maybe it figures it doesn't really need viewers, either!
Will KARK start asking viewers with antennas to send them money each month?
Whatever happened to that redheaded guy on fuc--er, FOX 16?
Rumor has it that WHECO is stating that signal will still be transmitted after the first? That they will give us time to make a switch if we need to.. and that Dish and Direct are the ones making the big fuss.. I think thats a load a bull.. we will see..
Just got off the phone with Resort WHECO in in Hot Springs, the CSR tells me that they are in contract negotiations, and that they were keeping ch 4 and ch 11 CBS. That WHECO was in contract negotiations and this happened every year (I don't remember this ever happening before).. but I gather from the 30 min it took me to get through just to the AVR system that they are getting the message... boy.. if they are not telling the truth it will be over for WHECO...
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