AMC

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

Here is an interesting article:

As we mentioned last month, Dish Network says its relations with AMC Networks -- which also includes IFC, The Sundance Channel, and WeTV, though people only really care about AMC -- is kaput and as of July 1, subscribers will be left without their meth-making science teachers or slickly dressed ad men. The clock is also ticking on the deal between AMC and AT&T U-Verse that expires this weekend. Regardless, it's the TV-watching consumer that will pay in the end.

In a statement to Consumerist, AT&T argues that "AMC Networks is seeking an excessive rate increase in our overall fees for the right to deliver these channels."

The Death Star claims that AMC is asking it to pay nearly double what it believes its competitors pay.

"We believe the rates they are seeking are disproportionate compared to the viewership we see across their channels," says AT&T, which says that if it accepts the AMC cost increase, it could lead to higher cable prices for subscribers.

The fact is that AT&T and AMC will almost certainly reach some sort of compromise. And that compromise will not be a decrease in the fees paid to the network, which will inevitably lead to higher prices for U-Verse subscribers.

And if AT&T and Dish follow through on their plans to cut these channels from the lineup, then subscribers are still effectively paying higher rates because they are receiving fewer channels for the same price.

Dish appears to be resolute in its decision to say goodbye to AMC, though the network continues to run a campaign asking fans to lobby the network to rethink things.

This situation is yet another example of why broadcasters' practice of bundling minor networks in with hotter properties. Both Dish and AT&T have made it pretty clear that they don't feel their customers want to pay extra for channels they don't watch, and of the channels involved in this dispute, only AMC brings in a decent amount of viewers -- and even that is only for a handful of awesome shows.

Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt said as much when he recently remarked that there are "too many networks... and the industry would take cost out of the system if they shut those networks down and offered lower prices to consumers."

At a time when a small but rapidly growing number of Americans are opting to go without cable or satellite TV for their home entertainment needs, both cable providers and broadcasters should be doing everything to keep customers from cutting the cord.

http://consumerist.com/2012/06/deadline-looms-for-dish-att-u-verse-subscribers-to-get-hosed-in-spat-...

[tkripala]

I for one do enjoy the AMC shows and it will be frustrating to me that ATT will drop them. There are a whole bunch of other channels that are not of interest to me but I am not complaining to ATT to remove it. Boy do I wish that we had a la carte selection and pricing.

[shaee]

AT&T raises their fees on us every year, what do we do? We pay it, well it's only fair for AT&T to pay the raised fee.

I'll dump AT&T if I miss one show

[shipdog7]

When I signed on as an AT&T customer I was entitled to a certain amount of channels. The "brochure"  I was given by the installation technician shows the channels I paid for. A&E was definitely one of them. If you drop that channel and others I expect a reduction in my monthly bill. What I probably will do is call Comcast or WowWay and change service immediately. I WILL not pay a cancellation fee for doing it. You broke your contract with me. You should pay me a fee for changing of services paid for monthly.

[blujacket]

AMC or A&E? Read your contract. Channels can be added or dropped @ anytime. Happens with all providers.

[Staggslaw]

Simple solution, ATT drops AMC, drop ATT.

[Computer-Joe]

---

shipdog7 wrote:

When I signed on as an AT&T customer I was entitled to a certain amount of channels. The "brochure"  I was given by the installation technician shows the channels I paid for. A&E was definitely one of them. If you drop that channel and others I expect a reduction in my monthly bill. What I probably will do is call Comcast or WowWay and change service immediately. I WILL not pay a cancellation fee for doing it. You broke your contract with me. You should pay me a fee for changing of services paid for monthly.

---

Hate to burst your bubble, but you should spend some time reading the Terms of Service http://www.att.com/u-verse/att-terms-of-service.jsp . Basically it says they can provide what they want to provide, when they want to provide it, and charge what they want to, and can change their minds on any of those points at any time. The way it's written, the only one capable of not fulfilling the agreement is the customer.

__________________________________________________________
How can you be in two places at once, when your not anywhere at all?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I really want to become a procrastinator, but I keep putting it off.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are three kinds of people, those that can count, and those that can't.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature has made them." :Bertrand Russell

[judidella]

WHAT............... LOSING AMC????

ONE OF BEST FAMILY CHANNELS???

DON'T HAVE HALLMARK CHANNEL

LET'S GET THIS TOGETHER AT&T U-VERSE................ALL OTHER PROVIDERS HAVE BOTH OF THESE CHANNEL'S

SO WHY NOT YOU?????

[Ish Kabibble]

How about these two posts from the Facebook Uverse page:

"If AMC's new rates are excessive, then I guess AMC and AT&T now have something in common."

"A&T complaining about an "excessive rate increase?" That's the funniest thing I've heard all month."

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

---

shipdog7 wrote:

When I signed on as an AT&T customer I was entitled to a certain amount of channels. The "brochure"  I was given by the installation technician shows the channels I paid for. A&E was definitely one of them. If you drop that channel and others I expect a reduction in my monthly bill. What I probably will do is call Comcast or WowWay and change service immediately. I WILL not pay a cancellation fee for doing it. You broke your contract with me. You should pay me a fee for changing of services paid for monthly.

---

No.  You do not subscribe (i.e. pay for) channels.  You subscribe to a package.  As has been stated, AT&T U-verse has the right to add or remove channels from that package.  You have the right to be upset when that happens, but you do not have the right to receive a reduction in your bill.

[oufanindallas]

---

Ish Kabibble wrote:

How about these two posts from the Facebook Uverse page:

"If AMC's new rates are excessive, then I guess AMC and AT&T now have something in common."

"A&T complaining about an "excessive rate increase?" That's the funniest thing I've heard all month."

---

They are one of the lowest priced providers for the most channels in my area.  At least they only raise their rates by $5 once per year as opposed to raising rates everytime a new contract is signed for a higher price ala Comcrap.

[Tito_1]

There they are!  I knew the one post, one and done wonders would be out sooner or later!

[Ish Kabibble]

For those of us that only watch HD channels, Uverse doesn't carry Wetv HD or IFCHD so we are only losing one channel. Of course if they manage to settle this those 2 HD channels may become part of the bargain.

[JohnnyCNote]

It just so happens that my commitment ends on Monday, and I can save about $100/month on Comcast, plus get faster Internet, keep our phone number, AND get a $300 prepaid Visa. So, why not switch? Had U-Verse not treated us like pawns in its games with AMC, I'd never have checked out Comcast and found all of these great reasons to switch.

Good job, AT&T!

[JohnnyCNote]

I've placed the order. Adios, AT&T . . .

[5ft7]

OK, the time's up - Will you or won't you be dropping AMC? 

If so, I need to start my "Triple Play" shopping

[dwinth]

---

5ft7 wrote:

OK, the time's up - Will you or won't you be dropping AMC? 

If so, I need to start my "Triple Play" shopping

---

There is no one here that can answer your question. We are all U-Verse subscribers just like you. 

[joseph0487]

If any of the two happens, I'll not hesitate to end my subscription with uverse:

1. No more AMC/IFC

2. Increased bill

 Uverse is really pricey. They should do something about this.

[Ish Kabibble]

From what I understand both sides have agreed to keep talking until July 14.

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

Here is an article from Multichannel News.  No mention of how long both parties will continue negotiations:

As their contract expired, AMC Networks and AT&T U-verse continued negotiations early Sunday morning.

The deal between the telco for carriage of the programmer's AMC, IFC and women's- targeted WeTV, concluded at midnight (ET) on July 1. AMC's other national service, Sundance Channel, is not part of the current distribution discussions.

While negotiations continued on that front, Dish Network, as expected, dropped AMC Networks' services with the new month, over what it said was the channels' high costs compared to their relatively low viewership. In early June, the No. 2 DBS provider pulled the plug on Sundance Channel and shifted the other three networks to its 9000-channel neighborhood. With the dawning of July, the distributor placed HDNet Movies  into AMC's channel 130 slot, while Style is now found at channel 128, where WeTV previously resided. HDNet, which next week is expected to morph into entertainment and music channel AXS.TV, a joint venture of Mark Cuban, AEG, Ryan Seacrest Media and Creative Artists Agency, will run on Channel 131. IFC was positioned at channel 393.The AMC services had been part of Dish America's Top 200 level of service or better.

AMC said the disconnect came without any negotiations and was tied to ongoing litigation between the No. 2 DBS provider and Voom HD, the suite of defunct channels owned by a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings, AMC Networks' predecessor company.

"Dish claims to put its customers first, yet they've taken away Dish viewers' favorite scripted drama series, AMC's The Walking Dead. Dish dropped our networks not because of ratings or rates," AMC said in a statement. "In fact, Dish has not discussed rates with us at all. Dish customers have lost some of their favorite shows because of an unrelated lawsuit which has nothing at all to do with our programming. Dish customers will not be able to watch the new season of AMC's Breaking Bad premiering July 15, or upcoming seasons ofThe Walking Dead,  Mad Men, or any of our other popular shows. We urge Dish customers who want to have access to our programming to call 1-855-KEEP-AMC or visit www.keepamc.com.

In a distinctly different matter, we are in ongoing discussions with AT&T about a new agreement and will update our viewers as soon as possible."

AT&T, which had stated that AMC was seeking an "excessive rate increase," confirmed that negotiations were continuing, but offered no further comment on Sunday morning.

In March, AMC Networks reached a carriage renewal with Suddenlink, averting a potential service disruption for its quartet of networks, ahead of their contract expiration. At the time, AMC said the deal "recognized the value and popularity" of its programming.  

AMC's lineup includes the four-time drama Emmy winner Mad Men, which recently concluded its fifth season, its best with the ratings; Breaking Bad, which has garnered Emmys for the performances of lead actor Bryan Cranston and his sidekick Aaron Paul; and zombie series, The Walking Dead, which has scared up some of cable's top Nielsens among the advertiser-coveted persons 18-to-49 group.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/486639-AMC_AT_T_U_verse_Continue_Negotiations_as_Carriage_Contra...

[Tito_1 · Accepted solution]

Per message that was just posted on U-Verse's facebook page, a deal was reached & the channels are not going anywhere.

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion · Accepted solution]

AT&T Reached Agreement with AMC Networks

AT&T has reached a fair distribution agreement with AMC Networks for AMC, IFC, Sundance and WE tv. The deal was reached on Sunday, July 1, and will keep AMC Networks available on U-verse TV. Details of the agreement were not disclosed. AT&T provided the following update:

"It was important to us on behalf of our U-verse TV customers to come to a positive resolution as quickly as possible. We appreciate everyone’s willingness to make that happen, working diligently over the weekend, so customers can continue to enjoy the programming they love on U-verse, the fastest growing TV service in the country," said Jeff Weber, President of Content and Advertising Sales, AT&T.

https://www.facebook.com/uverse/app_466526070042808

[DAMOSPORT]

Good to hear that AMC is still on the air, but as HD Premium subscriber i'm disappointed to see that the ROOT Sports Channels have suddenly vanished from the air. Does anyone have any more information on these??

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

---

DAMOSPORT wrote:

Good to hear that AMC is still on the air, but as HD Premium subscriber i'm disappointed to see that the ROOT Sports Channels have suddenly vanished from the air. Does anyone have any more information on these??

---

I only know that those carriage agreements were also set to expire on June 30th.

[dwinth]

---

DAMOSPORT wrote:
Good to hear that AMC is still on the air, but as HD Premium subscriber i'm disappointed to see that the ROOT Sports Channels have suddenly vanished from the air. Does anyone have any more information on these??

---

Has U-Verse gone into the areas served by Root Sports Northwest, Pittsburgh, and Rocky Mountain? If not, I imagine that we would not get many posts from unhappy subscribers.

[larryinfishers]

AT&T reached an agreement with AMC, meaning IFC & Sundance channels also stay on U-Verse

[larryinfishers]

Sorry, intended to include a link to prove agreement has been reached with AMC.

http://consumerist.com/2012/07/at-dish-customers-get-movies-theyve-seen-a-million-times-already.html...

[DAMOSPORT]

As a Colorado Rockies fan living in Michigan i enjoy the pre-game and post-game coverage of the games on Root Sports Denver. That was one of the main reasons why i subscribed to the HD Premium package to begin with. That and the $7 fee each month. Hope U-Verse can come to an agreement soon with these channels or maybe add a couple of more Comcast sports networks to make up for the loss of Root.

[siouxmoux]

Nice to see ATT and AMC Networks kiss and made up.

[5ft7]

Thanks to all concerned.  I've got to have my Mad Men, one way or the other - Thanks AMC for giving us quality programming in Mad Men and thanks AT&T for letting us be able to watch it!