Pottawatomie Telephone Company has added several channels to our Essential Digital TV lineup on a temporary basis during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope this provides more entertainment and value for our customers subscribed to the Essential DVT lineup while spending more time at home. The temporary new channels include:
CNN, Cooking Channel, Travel, DIY, Great American Country, Science, American Heroes, Destination America, Discovery Family, Discovery Life, OWN, Game Show Network, BBC America, AMC, WE and IFC.
December 31, 2019 – We are negotiating with FOX Corporation to continue to offer their networks FOX News Channel, FOX Business Network, FOX Sports 1, and FOX Sports 2 on your lineup, as well as their local FOX station in some of the towns we serve. We are attempting to reach a fair agreement, but they are demanding that we agree to very significant rate increases that will directly impact your monthly bill. If we are unable to reach an agreement by midnight on Tuesday, December 31st, FOX may force us to remove their channels from your lineup.
FOX is seeking a rate increase that is more than 10x the rate of inflation, after already increasing rates for FOX News Channel by 800% since 2004. If milk increased by the same amount FOX News has over the last 15 years, a gallon of milk that cost $3.50 in 2004 would cost $29 today. It is not fair to our hard-working customers to pay for these big increases while multi-billion-dollar companies like FOX make record profits. We are fighting on your behalf to keep costs down.
To learn more about this negotiation, visit the FAQs, and check back at tvonmyside.com for the latest information on our discussions with FOX Corporation.
Because we are a hometown business, we are invested in our community, our employee and our customers. With Network fees dramatically increasing and impacting your monthly bill, we wanted to help you better understand the economics of the TV business. All Satellite and Cable providers pay each Network owner (Programmer) a fee for every household that receives a particular Network – regardless of whether anyone in the household actually watches it.
- These Network fees have increased dramatically at 3 ½ times the rate of inflation over the past 15 years.¹
- Five media companies control 90% of the Networks, and while we work hard to keep these costs under control, they continue to use their power to demand more money.²
- Programmers are securing long-term contracts with significant guaranteed Network fee increases, regardless of how many people watch.
In recent years, programmers, specifically sports and local broadcast channels have taken advantage of their popularity to demand extraordinary rate increases of the cable industry. Before 2017, PTC has worked hard to avoid rate increases by keeping our prices low. As you can see in the chart below, programming costs have risen 100% since 2007 while PTC has only had two increases in the past ten years.
Recent Comments