Crown Media Holdings says that telco MVPD AT&T U-verse is allowing carriage distribution talks to remain at a standstill, leading to the possible loss to subscribers of its two channels, Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel.
Hallmark Channels CEO Bill Abbott said, “Hallmark Channels has been a good partner and supporter of AT&T U-verse since they launched their service, and we have been negotiating in good faith with them. We hope AT&T will recognize the extraordinary value of our channels and renew the carriage agreement. At the present time, however, talks are not progressing and it is looking more likely that Hallmark Channels will be dropped from AT&T.”
RBR-TVBR observation: We don’t really have a dog in this fight. But before MVPDs run to the FCC begging for government intervention in retransmission negotiations with broadcasters, shouldn’t they first beg for government intervention in retransmission negotiations amongst their own MVPD oriented businesses?
Do MVPDs really believe it is their right to play hardball when it suits them, and get the government to switch the game to softball when they can’t handle it? Seriously, at least show some consistency, MVPDs!
