No Food Network or HGTV as Scripps and AT&T Feud
There is another programming blackout affecting AT&T U-verse customers — but this time the programmer says it’s not about money.Scripps Networks, the owner of HGTV, Food Network and several other cable channels, said Friday morning that its contract with AT&T had expired, forcing the channels off AT&T’s television lineup. AT&T U-verse services about 2.7 million households.
It’s a shame because I like HGTV and AT&T Uverse. In this situation I actually blame scripps because my guess is they are doing two things:
1 - Bundling all their channels together…this common tactic allows them to charge more for the forced bundle that includes all their channels. This means higher prices for us the consumer and doen’t allow for a la carte programing.
2 - Not providing digital liscense to AT&T for them to show the programs online. Not knowing the details of this one makes it hard to take sides but I do think that AT&T is getting smart by trying to become an online destination for it’s customers to watch TV online…in other words they are saying “no need to drop cable and watch online because you can keep your cable and still watch online.” The only problem is if someone else provides all the shows online (aka Hulu) for a less expensive subscription price then there is no incentive to stay with AT&T. Oh any Hulu already carries HGTV shows and I do think it’s fair for AT&T to ask for the ability to carry any shows online that Hulu already has.
Either way…give me my HGTV back!
