KXAN and Time Warner Cable Dispute: Q&A with Eric Lassberg, General Manager @ KXAN

Who's kidding who here? Nothing is free! Most, if not all, of KXAN's revenue comes from advertisers. Where do the advertisers get their money? Anyone? You guess it!

I don't miss KXAN...

instead of the cheap antenna, i went with a hd usb tuner for the pc that is attached to my living room HDTV via DVI. The antenna that was included w/ the tuner is smaller than those on a boom box, but being close enough in south austin the picture is great.

I enjoyed the Sunday night football game, but it's enough of a nuisance to switch video inputs for just one channel that I won't watch any other NBC show.

so I can get all local stations w/ this tiny antenna and since it's a usb PC thing, i can record tne stream as well. but yeah, it cost a lot more than just an antenna by itself.

Time Warner broadcasting your signal brings KXAN to more viewers, thus KXAN can charge more for their advertisement slots. Seems like a fair trade already.

I believe we should send a message to all KXAN advertisers...

TO ALL THE ADVERTISERS ON KXAN, GO TO ANOTHER STATION THAT GETS WIDE AIRPLAY! YOUR $$ IS WASTED ADVERTISING ON KXAN.

That will make LIN/KXAN lose any of their bargaining chips. I hope they get a signal from Killeen and they create a different station here for NBC(even though TWC says they can’t legally do this). I don't see anything good in KXAN's local programming anyway. I only watch SNL, Office, Heroes and Earl. Heroes is rebroadcast on Tuesday night on G4 (channel 239), then again Weds in HD on MOJO network Channel 1687) and I can download those programs via Torrents through my time Warner RoadRunner connection thus increasing the traffic on their networks thus making them pay more for their connections thus screwing both Time Warner and KXAN!!!

Also Time Warner has raised it's rates by several $$ per month over the past few years, and I have not seen any additional services that I would use for this extra $$. I wouldn't mind paying an extra $3.65 extra per year to pay KXAN, but this would set a precedent for all the free networks to want something more from us. (At least we would know what this price increase is for, instead of just going to the top execs that are probably getting rich and making bad investments so the Government will bail them out anyway.)

Is there anything we can do to change what affiliate carries our area? If is not legal to get another signal from SA or have time warner bargain with their affiliates than why do our tax $$ pay the FCC… what a great service they provide us. Let a monopoly control one area so the people get screwed.

My Wife bought some Rabbit ears for $9.99 that could have been 3 years worth of KXAN… what’s next?

I agree with the others in that though I don't really like the TW corporate giant, I can't stand the greediness of LIN communications.

TWC maintains our cable lines and boosters the signal and would fix any signal transmittion problems customers might have... I don't really think you could get a LIN or KXAN tech out to fix their "free" signal, or to help set up rooftop antennae for those in more rural areas. Thus TWC and KXAN are the victims of LIN execs greediness.

I hope LIN looses the affiliate and they all go crashing with the market.

At the end of the day I blame LIM and KXAN...

LIN shouldn't use us as bargaining chips, and TW should offer us the choice of another NBC feed.

Looking at all of the comments you will see who is greedy here. It is clear that KXAN is at fault here.

I would say let's all contact TWC to let them know that they should get another local station to provide the NBC content and drop KXAN altogther for good.

We should also contact the advertisers to let them know that they are not getting their money's worth from KXAN.

It is shameful what they are doing, specially now I learned that they have done the same to Suddenlink

If you think IKXAN is in the wrong, you can always contact them and tell them to stop being greedy

KXAN Comments:

viewercomments@kxan.com

Telephone Fax

Main: (512) 476-3636

News Hotline: (512) 703-5300

Sales: (512) 703-5274 Main: (512) 476-1520

News: (512) 469-0630

Sales: (512) 478-4911

Address



KXAN Austin News

908 W. MLK Blvd.

Austin, TX 78701

One sided article, especially at the end.

What can Austinites do about this?

Call Time Warner and tell them you don’t want to lose KXAN. Their phone number is: 512-485-6100.

Well, what about KXAN's phone number? Why doesn't this article hand out that number and let the consumers tell them to stop being greedy?

LIN TV/KXAN would like to be treated like a traditional Cable Network (TNT,FX,TBS,Lifetime etc)

The truth is that the ways cable networks and the way traditional networks make money is plain and simply different. Cable networks are not free to air like KXAN is.

LIN TV/KXAN is simply rebroadcasting a network. They do have some local originated programming. LIN TV/KXAN believes it should be compensated for junk from TWC or more importantly TWC's customers.

LIN TV/KXAN is running ads to piss off TWC's customers and trying to get them to switch to the crappy Dish. This is simply a attempt to force TWC meet KXANs demands. If KXAN locally originated programming is SO GREAT then they should be able to get the fair market value compensation they are seeking from advertisers.

If KXAN is able to get their way, that money is going to go to BONUSES for LINTV/KXAN suits.

This is just one more example of corporate greed that is more and more prevalent in this day and age.

The FCC is a useless organization that is busy keeping people like Hoard Stern of the air and preventing the merger of satellite radio. If the FCC was not so worthless a organization, it might step in and Tell KXAN to know its role and shut up.

I get ABC, CBS, NBC etc..free channels using my TWC. Why is KXAN different all the sudden? If LIN TV/KXAN wants a penny per subscriber from TWC, then ABC and CBS have the right to renegotiate their contracts and get that penny as well.

I wonder what will be the reaction of NBC Corporate when a mayor metropolitan area like Austin doesn't receive their transmition through a major cable like TWC because their affiliate is getting greedy.

I've been thinkin' the same thing all day about the advertisers. I happen to be stuck w/ TWC- as I imagine a bunch of others are. I've been keeping a log of advertisers today to contact. Wish I woulda thought of this earlier. Oh well, theres gotta be worse things than not having a corporate mindset... Guess we'll see what happens come thurs.

Mr. Lassberg, I have one question.

If you think KXAN is going to suffer by not getting paid by TWC, how bad do you think you're going to suffer if you lose 300k local TWC viewers? Local advertisers will start dropping like flies-- Dont expect a bunch of folks to switch to Grande or Dish just to get KXAN's local programming, nor for people to race to Walmart to buy rabbit ears any time soon. TWC will get a new affiliate and drop you like a bad habit---then will you think twice about how you handled this?

TWC IS your distribution, and the primary source of your viewers, your ratings, and your advertising revenue. Seems to me like you are biting the hand that feeds you. In my opinion, to start this "woe is me" public dispute was very poor judgment on your part, and is only going to make it less likely for you to reach an agreement. Lets face it, KXAN needs Time Warner more than Time Warner needs KXAN.

If I were as local salesperson for KXAN I'd start sending out my resume, because thanks to the futile pissing contest started by Mr.Lassberg and the LAN execs, you're about to lose all your viewers and advertisers, and be out of a job.

Either way, I've heard the new U-Verse is far and away the best option for tv viewers. I had several conversations this past week with people who are just waiting for it to become available in their area. From what I can tell, we will probably make the switch as well.

Ok I have to say.. I keep hearing about the basic channels and paying for this.. and how kxan is just trying to recoup.

What about TWC... they are the ones maintaining and running your fiber lines to the neighborhoods and then the lines to the house. When you have an issue with KXAN being fuzzy. Lets see you call LIN TV and see how soon they will get a tech on fixing that issue.

But know.. you call TWC and complain... and they pay techs good money to resolve the issue.

Is it just me or does this seem EXTREMELY one sided and biased?

Both sides have irritated me:

I emailed KXAN's "email us with any questions blah blah" email addy. I said something to the effect that many of us are tied to TWC, whether we like it or not. And inquired about the use of an antenna, and also asked about it possibly being a better picture due to not having to use compression schemes that sat & cable have to.



I got an autoresponder-type message that just gave the same info they've been streaming everywhere that they've been able to- not answering my questions at all. At the end of their relatively polite, yet unhelpful email, it said to email back if I had any further questions.

I responded with something like "while I realize you feel you need to get your side of the story out, your autoresponded msg didn't address my antenna question (which is why I wrote)" and I re-pasted my question.

KXAN responded with a curt "That was not an auto respond. And I will forward your e-mail to someone that can answer your questions.".

Okay- so maybe someone cut and paste the "company line" and sent it to me. If so, it was very generic, and since I know KXAN is reading these- you can set up an autoresponder to send out those generic replies, not have to pay someone to cut and paste the same thing over and over, and maybe save enough money that you guys can make a profit then. (Of course no one ever responded to my antenna question. So clearly customer service is not at the core of KXANs business model.)

-and as far as I can tell, alot of us can get away with (relatively) small set-top HD antennas- not rooftop models. I apologize to those reading that need rooftop models.

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Now for TWC's sin:

I've seen a commercial on TV by TWC telling us that if they lose KXAN, then we can always watch

most full episodes of NBC programs over the internet- some in HD! (or maybe the HD! bit was an NBC commercial. It all gels together you know, the emergencies- economy collapsing, pirates in somalia, nukes in Venezuela, and some corporate jerks screwing with my television)

This is the same TWC that's experimenting with a relatively low internet cap of 40gig/month. That's after implementing a tiered service offering of 5, 10, 20 or 40 Gigabytes/month. Now it's only an experiment in Beaumont TX- but I expect as ComCast implements their cap, TWC will introduce theirs in more and more markets. I'll save my rants about the lack of investment into new technologies by broadband providers, and how America has lost our edge because providers view internet access as a commodity... and I'll just throw this out there- If TWC wants to "force" us to view NBC's shows (in HD!), and they want to cap our usage (which just means we're gonna get screwed royally when we go over our "minutes"- sorry, wrong service, our gigabytes)- we're all gonna end up in the poor house pretty quick (those of us on TWC's internet teat).

All of this really sucks, because I've been relatively happy with TWC's broadband service. I'd even upgrade to the new super-duper-turbo-jet-roadrunner, if the Internet Cap of Damocles wasn't hanging over my head).

(sure wish Verizon would get here with their FiOS- anyone know if thats gonna happen?)

LIN has a horrific reputation for pulling this stunt on MSOs. Although they tout that they have tried desperately to send proposals and TWC doesn't respond is a blatant lie. TWC has continually sent proposals (and counters) to LIN. I believe the latest one regarded the "penny per subscriber per day" AND marketing costs and benefits (ad space). Still, TWC has allegedly not responded to them? And they're trusted with providing news?

What's more... people need to really understand that this isn't a battle at the local level. TimeWarner Corporate and LIN TV are negotiating. Unfortunately, this has turned into a Time Warner Central TX vs. KXAN. Our local offices nor KXAN can truly do anything about it.

Am I concerned about customers disconnecting over this? Absolutely. Is there anything I can do about it? Not really.

What it all boils down to is the #1 reason why ANY company is in business... to make money.

Let's do some math... a penny per sub per day. Sounds reasonable, right? C'mon TWC... it's JUST a penny!

Austin-area subs... ~300,000 subs x $0.01 x 365... = $1,095,000 annualized.

As an empoyee of TWC (yes, indeed)... I can tell anyone who has brought up ala carte pricing would be in for a very, very bad shock. In all honestly, it would end up costing MORE for you to have ala carte. Networks charge TWC to carry their channels based on total subscribers in their DMA. Now, let's say that HGTV charges TWC Central TX $0.01 (same amount LIN is asking for) per sub (~420,000) per day... What does that add up to? $1,533,000 is the grand total. What happens if only 30,000 people elect to sign up for HGTV on an ala carte basis? That would be a difference of $1,423,500.00. Now what do we do? Instead charging a set rate for a package/tier... we'd have to significantly increase the cost per channel. Don't want to pay $65 for Standard cable? Ok... pay $48 for HGTV *alone*. Not smart. I used to always complain how cable companies should offer this, but after seeing and doing the math... it would be cost-prohibitive by a wide margin.

I hope LIN and TW Corp get something together before 10/02. This may turn into an 11th hour deal. :/

Here's the rub:

LIN broadcasting, via KXAN's license, has a few rights that they're not explaining to you.

LIN has the exclusive right to pass on NBC's programming in an area larger than they reach with their antenna.

LIN has the right to deny Time Warner Cable (or any other provider) the right to carry their signal.

LIN also has the right to FORCE Time Warner to carry their signal, at no cost to LIN or it's viewers, even in areas that LIN's own signal doesn't reach.

Short answer - LIN is lying to everyone, trying to make time warner out to be the bad guy. LIN produces little content, and is the one denying you the ability to see NBC's content, by their exclusive agreement with NBC to be the sole NBC carrier in this region. We go through this every couple of years. At lest this year, I don't have to stare at his ugly mug whining about not getting Rosanne and Star Trek.

I look at this gross misrepresentation to be characteristic of management of KXAN, and a good reason not to take their news coverage as having any integrity, either.

My basic cable bill covers the cost of Time Warner to capture, digitize, clean up and retransmit the signal to my house. I'm sick of LIN, and recently the NFL network, to line their pockets with my basic cable costs, and lie about the true nature of the issue.

I'll be happy to not watch LIN/KXAN. I'd be happy for them to show up on the ala-carte menu of programming, where I'm not likely to accidentally stumble across their junk.

As a side note - Not content to continue to get their signal carried to legacy TV's starting next year (when all broadcast TV goes digital only), they're still trying to gouge their audience for a few bucks. Good plan!

Shame on you.

Once again, the amount I pay TWC (or in my case, Grande) for those over-the-air channels is NOT for the signal, which I could get for free and is thus worth $0.00 on the open market, but is instead for the convenience of not having to put up a stupid antenna on my roof. That IS worth some money. How much? I don't know; I don't get just basic cable, but one could estimate that it's worth about 20 bucks a month, total, for all those channels.

KXAN (and friends) didn't run the cable to my house and they don't pay to maintain the equipment. TWC and Grande did and do. They deserve the money.

Ok so here's the deal people listen up, if you have only basic cable through TW these are the channels you get: KTBC FOX, KVUE ABC, KXAN NBC, KEYE CBS, City Of Austin Access, TV Guide Channel, TV Guide Network, News 8 Austin, KLRU PBS, Public Access, KNVA-CW, KAKW, KADF Azteca America, ME- Television, Public Access, Travis County Access, C-SPAN, ACC Access, KLRU-2, WGN, AISD Access.

THESE ARE ALL FREE CHANNELS!!!! You can get them all with a decent antenna! OK SO Here's the price you pay for all of these FREE channels if you get them redirected through TWC $19.95 (+ applicable tax and fees that TWC decides to tack on)

Now listen closely all you folks out there who don't think TWC is cheating, that means that you're paying $0.95 + per channel for every free channel that time warner offers! KXAN is asking for a piece of that... Now I'm not sure how large a piece of that they're asking for but is it fair that they ask for something YES IT MOST CERTAINLY IS!

LORD! If you don't want to pay for free channels and you're willing to have a bit extra fuzz on your tv and willing to deal with the rain and wind messing up your set just get a bit antenna and put it on your roof you'll get all those channels. TWC would not have to raise their rates in the slightest for paying KXAN a small amount to broadcast, they would just be giving back what they make from their customers thus lessening their profits.

Free is Free ok that's just the way, TWC and other companies have been charging you for free network for a long time now, TWC is just the only one that doesn't want to pay back those free networks what they make off you for watching supposed free tv... GET IT?

So TWC may cancel the NBC station in Austin. Nothing lost there.

Now if TWC would just drop MSNBC and CNN, I would consider getting their service.

For now, my out side antenna does just fine for HD TV. And it is free.

I agree that it's LIN that seems to be at fault here. I feel bad that kxan is caught in the middle. I have a friend who is "in the know" He says that LIN wont allow TWC to run a fiber optic cable to from their office to KXAN like all the other stations do. That is why the picture quality is worse, TWC has to pick it up off an antenna and amplify it for rebroadcast on the cable network.

If I were an advertiser I would be asking for a lower rate. I would guess that maybe 400,000 people watch KXAN on TWC. If they suddenly can not, and TWC switches to a San Antonio or Waco feed then all of a sudden the advertising value of KXAN is worth nill.

I see this as LIN trying to extort TWC and by extension the good people of Austin for money. TWC has a history of not being bullied by networks. They refuse to pay the NFL network the unreasonable amount they are demanding.

What make you think that they will give into little ol' Lin TV

We can get our local news from ktbc/kvue/keye and news 8 austin. I personally will miss Jim Spencer's weather though, he is my favorite.

wow. i'm glad i just pay my monthly Half-Price books bill.

wow. i'm glad i just pay my monthly Half-Price books bill.

Last I checked I have never paid a KXAN bill, but I'll be damned if I don't pay a monthly fee for a box that has a cost that is recouped in two months. And I pay for a service that includes free channels that I can't get for free unless I pay for them through that service.

The TWC rep makes a much better argument than KXAN's. Fact is, LIN gets the use of publicly owned broadcast bandwidth (on channel 24) free of charge from the federal government, then turns around and sells the use of that same frequency to advertisers.

So it's KXAN that is guilty of gouging the public here, not TWC (and I'm not one who usually defends cable monopolies). They pay nothing for a public frequency, charge advertisers for its use, and now they're trying to charge TW subscribers on top of that to watch their infomercials. GMAFB!

In closing Time Warner Cable deos not charge individually for channels.

So TWC doesn't charge for channels individually, you just charge a group rate for a bunch of free channels?

FREE to AIR. cable TV providers make sure that people can get local channels clearly. People who do not subscribe to a PAY TV service would otherwise require a terrestrial antenna. That does not always work out so good. That is why CATV (community antenna television)was necessary. Way back in the begging it was necessary for people to watch TV via a COMMUNITY ANTENNA that was wired from a local tower type antenna and then wired to their homes. this eventually gave birth to Cable TV companies. THE POINT HERE IS Cable companies are doing all of the local TV stations a favor. KXAN should not try and play the victim here. KXAN should know their role and not try and strong arm Time Warner so that KXAN suits can go buy another new Mercedes. Time Warner and all other Cable companies charge customers for the minimum of basic cable which does include local channels. KXAN is falsely claiming that Time Warner is unfairly profiting from their content. I would love to see what would happen if Time Warner does drop KXAN and then KXAN suits have to explain to there advertisers that they suddenly can not reach hundreds of thousands if not more viewers. Whatever, KXAN programming mostly sucks anyways.

What is really happening?

www.thetruthhurtsKXAN.com

A news station should deliver both sides of an issue so you're able to make an informed and educated decision. So why is KXAN conveying one sided, misleading information to the public? You deserve to get the whole story.

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KXAN is distributing messaging that is false. KXAN is trying to negotiate their retransmission agreement through the public and is trying to confuse our customers and unfortunately, put them in the middle of these negotiations.

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KXAN is demanding money from our customers to pay for a signal that has been and is free. That's right. They get it free from the Federal Government, but they want you to pay. We don't want that to happen just so KXAN can add to their revenue base.

We are negotiating in an effort to manage costs for our customers and will do so to reach a fair and reasonable deal with broadcasters. We don't want KXAN to take this programming away from our customers, but ultimately it is KXAN's decision whether or not our customers will see their programming.

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KXAN is trying to subsidize their business by charging cable customers money. By doing so, they not only add to their revenue base, but take advantage of their viewers by charging for a signal that is FREE.

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Again, this is a false statement from KXAN. Time Warner Cable will not be dropping KXAN. The only way viewers will be shut out is if KXAN refuses us the right to carry their signal. Ultimately it is KXAN's decision whether or not our customers will see their programming. Time Warner Cable is making an honest effort to resolve this issue. In fact, we've successfully reached fair agreements with hundreds of broadcasters and cable networks across the country and are confident we will with KXAN, as well.

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These are agreements the federal government requires for us to have in order to carry a broadcaster's signal. The broadcasters' agreements with cable companies provide us with permission to carry their services and these routinely expire from time to time. We are usually able to obtain renewals or extensions of such agreements, and carriage of programming services is discontinued only in rare circumstances. KXAN's claims that we will operate without a contract are false. We cannot legally distribute their signal without a contract.

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In closing Time Warner Cable deos not charge individually for channels.

Dear Mr. Lassberg,

It doesn't matter to me personally whether you reach an agreement with Time-Warner or not, because if I want to watch your station, I will watch it over the air.

You should know, however, that LIN TV has a very poor reputation in its markets as a result of the tactics it employs when it is extorting an agreement out of cable companies.

The very idea that you would run a crawl suggesting that customers switch to Dish or U-Verse displays a huge lack of diplomacy on your part. And it makes transparent your fear that Time-Warner will call your bluff, as Suddenlink did.

You would do better to let TWC pull the plug and then wait for your viewers to howl........your approach is both underhanded and ungentlemanly.

No doubt you will get your way, but your actions have certainly lowered my opinion of the integrity of your company.

That's an absurd argument. Any one of those cable customers could just as easily stick an antenna up and get your signal for free - which shows exactly what it's worth on the open market, once you subtract the value advertisers are paying you.

That value is Zero. (And I like a few of your shows, even).

Now, it might be worth 30 cents a month to not have to stick an antenna up on my roof, but that doesn't mean the value of your programming is that high. It means the value of the cable bringing it right to me is 30 cents, and TW (and their competitors) are the ones providing that service, not you.

KXAN here...

As you know, Time Warner has a short-term agreement to carry the signals of our television stations on its cable system. The agreement expires on October 2, 2008.

Despite what Time Warner has told you, for the past two months, LIN TV has attempted to reach a new long-term agreement or a contract extension for both its analog and high-definition signals with Time Warner, however, Time Warner has not responded to our proposals.

So you understand the issue at hand: Time Warner wants to take our signal for free and turn around and charge you for it in your monthly bill. In essence, it takes our signals for free and resells it for a profit.

The fair compensation we are asking for as part of our contract negotiations with Time Warner amounts to less than a penny a day per station/per subscriber. Cable companies often say that local broadcasters have “unreasonable demands”. We do not believe that a penny a day per station/per subscriber is an unreasonable demand for our award-winning news, sports and entertainment programming. It is actually much less than what cable companies compensate many of its cable networks, none of which have the viewing of your local television stations.

It is unreasonable for Time Warner to think that it can carry our signals without paying and still charge you for it. Under Federal Law, Time Warner cannot carry our local TV stations without an agreement.

Please also know that LIN TV has successfully reached agreements with nearly every major cable, satellite and telecom company, except for Time Warner. We know from those agreements that what we are asking for is very reasonable.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you and we encourage you to contact Time Warner and tell them you do not want to lose your local TV station and your favorite local programming. Time Warner’s phone number is: 512-485-6100.

Please don’t hesitate to email us back with any questions.

Thank you for supporting local television

I don't believe that KXAN is playing the stupid card as to why Time Warner won't resign their contract with them. Suddenlink had the same contract issues with them last year, which resulted in Suddenlink deciding to allow the contract to expire. If there is something wrong with Time Warner and Suddenlink's logic behind the contract negotations, then how come they were able to sign contracts with all the other local broadcasters without a hitch? This is the second time now that KXAN is making themselves out to be the victim in this whole drama. I'm sure if KXAN wants to keep playing this little game that Time Warner will find another NBC affiliate to bring in. As a Suddenlink customer who had to deal with this problem last year I was perfectly content with Suddenlink bringing in the affiliate from Killeen. So instead of calling Time Warner, I urge people to call KXAN since they seem to be the root of the problem. I sympathize for the Time Warner customers who are stuck in the middle of this headache.

The thing with the station is that, yes they charge for advertising, but you have to remember that that TV is not a revenue based business, it is a public service and the funds made from ad sales goes to the operation of the station. So, while they do make money from ads, they go to the equipment, personnel, and costs of rebroadcasting the signal. And if you notice, the signal on KXAN IS already slightly weaker than other staions on TWC.

Just take a look at the offices of both of these companies and you'll see who is not getting the fair deal here and who is the money-grubbing conglomerate. KXAN is only asking for fair and equitable treatment.

How do I contact LIN TV to complain to them? Don't they already make money from commercials? If Time Warner rebroadcasts for free, doesn't that mean they can weaken their signal and still have a large audience? Why should I feel sorry for KXAN and LIN TV? I hope austinist also does an interview with TWC on this issue so we can get both sides.

Oh, and I won't miss Jim Spencer's First Warning Weather Report anywhere near as much as Eric seems to think. :-)

Other options include buying a $10 antenna and getting HD signals over the air, without paying through the nose every month for the rest of your life.