Tennis Channel Says It Needs More Time On Cablevision Deal

Tennis Channel Says It Needs More Time To Figure Out The MSO's Deal

Tennis Channel gave its clearest indication yet that Cablevision subscribers will not be able to watch the network during the U.S. Open, releasing a statement saying it needs more time to figure out the MSO's deal. Last week, the cable programming co-op National Cable TV Cooperative (NCTC) said Cablevision signed a valid contract, which gives it a legitimate right to carry Tennis Channel on its sports tier. Tennis Channel in a statement released this morning said Cablevision's move "raises serious problems for all cable programmers." The statement: "We are sorting out these issues and will decide what steps to take when we are ready to do so. They are too important to the future of cable programming to be governed by the immediacy of the U.S. Open, as much as we would like to help people see it." The Tennis Channel statement also tries to lay blame for the delay on Cablevision's decision to wait until just before the U.S. Open to announced its NCTC deal. "It could have given us notice of its intention to do so well before now, so that the questions could have been addressed and resolved in advance." Tennis Channel last week embarked on a $500,000-1M marketing blitz to pressure Cablevision to carry the network on a better distributed tier. Cablevision's response: "Any further delay by the TC is at the expense of NY-area tennis fans" (John Ourand, THE DAILY). CABLEFAX DAILY reports Tennis Channel yesterday "parked a billboard truck in front" of Cablevision's offices with a sign reading, "Thanks for nothing Cablevision" (CABLEFAX DAILY, 9/1).

DIGGING IN HIS HEELS: Tennis Channel Chair & CEO Ken Solomon addressed the ongoing dispute last night on Fox Business and said, “I think that fans understand that our goal has been all along, and we've been at this for almost six years now, to make tennis available to widest possible audience. … We'd like it to be available to about 50% of their audience and we built a business model where it's affordable.” Solomon: “The way we look at it, we're charging Cablevision the equivalent of maybe half a can of tennis balls. They want people to build a whole tennis court just to be able to see Tennis Channel, and we're just not going to do that" ("America's Nightly Scoreboard," Fox Business, 8/31).

BATTLE CONTINUES: MULTICHANNEL NEWS' Mike Reynolds notes Tennis Channel "has lobbed up legalities ... as its defensive move for not playing doubles" with Cablevision. Tennis Channel is invoking a "30-day notice period before the network can launch" on Cablevision, but the NCTC said it is "unaware of any previous launch request where Tennis Channel delayed authorization for 30 days." Reynolds writes the "question remains is Tennis merely buying time until the end of September?" Tennis Channel "wants and deserves wider distribution for its year-round presentation of the global sport, which includes coverage of all four majors and a bevy of original programming, in HD." But if Tennis Channel is "contractually obligated to Cablevision's iO Sports Pak and is going to wind up there at the end of September -- after the 30-day notification period expires -- then its Open shot fell into the net for naught" (MULTICHANNEL.com, 9/1).

TIME WARNER ALSO MISSING ACTION: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir reported Tennis Channel for recent Grand Slam tournaments has offered free two-week previews for "cable and satellite operators who normally offer it on a narrower basis," but Time Warner Cable (TWC) is "not making the preview available" in N.Y. for the U.S. Open. While TWC is "giving the Tennis Channel a free preview in other markets, like Los Angeles and Dallas," only N.Y.-area TWC customers that pay for the digital sports tier could access the channel. The free previews "have played an important part in the independent network's growth-by-visibility strategy," and TWC in N.Y. "had carried free previews of the last three French Opens -- all that the cable operator had been offered." But Tennis Channel Chair & CEO Ken Solomon said of TWC failing to offer a free preview during the U.S. Open, "They changed their mind, saying they wanted to sell the sports tier, it's the U.S. Open, it's in New York and they're in New York, and they shouldn't have to give it away for free." Still, Sandomir noted Tennis Channel's TWC problem is "minor compared to the battle it is having with Cablevision over distribution" (NYTIMES.com, 8/31).

LET'S GO STREAMING: USTA Senior Dir of Advanced Media Phil Green said of streaming U.S. Open matches live on USOpen.org, "You're not cannibalizing your TV audience by watching online. As CBS' March Madness or MLB Baseball have shown, you're only enhancing the product. At the end of the day, if people have a 50-inch plasma or 19-inch computer, what are they going to watch? As good as our video is going to be, a 50-inch plasma will be better. This enhances what's on TV, and people are more likely to watch when they do get in front of the TV" (ECONSULTANCY.com, 8/31).