NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - Cablevision Systems Corp was the likely winner in its recent stalemate with ABC's parent, Walt Disney Co, but broadcasters may ultimately win the industry's running debate over fees, Moody's Investors Service said on Monday.
'We award this Oscar to Cablevision as the likely victor, this time,' Moody's said in a report. Disney 'presumably ceded more ground than it would have liked....If not, Cablevision's track record suggests that a blackout of the ABC TV station programming would have almost certainly ensued.'
Cablevision reached a last-minute deal with Disney late on Sunday that returned WABC-TV, the New York-area ABC station, to cable customers 12 minutes into the Oscars, one of the most-watched events of the year. For details click on .
Cablevision gave no financial details of the agreement.
The stalemate stemmed from a dispute over how much cable and satellite companies should pay to carry programming of broadcast networks like ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.
'For Cablevision, the credit implication of losing ABC-7, particularly ahead of the Academy Awards show, would have been negative,' Moody's said. Some Cablevision customers would have defected to other pay-TV providers as they grew increasingly tired of blackouts, the rating agency said.
Cablevision's New York-area customers lost signals from WABC early on Sunday, the second blackout in 2010. In January, Scripps Network Interactive pulled its Food Network and HGTV channels for three weeks in a similar dispute.
'We believe that Cablevision's rivals will benefit from this latest stand-off -- principally Verizon Communications Inc , whose relatively new FiOS fiber-optic TV service has been making inroads into Cablevision's metro-NY markets,' Moody's said.
The stand-off had no impact on Disney's credit profile because ABC and its New York station are only a small part of Disney's overall business, Moody's said.
Still, Disney wanted to set a precedent because it is expected to face another fee fight this summer with Time Warner Cable Inc.
At stake are hundreds of millions of dollars in annual fees that broadcast network affiliates are demanding for their programming from pay-TV providers.
Major broadcast stations will likely win this bid for fees, 'mainly because they have some of the most popular programming content that the cable and other pay TV companies need in order to keep subscribers and stay competitive,' Moody's said.
The biggest losers will be consumers as pay TV companies raise prices to offset the added fees, the rating agency said.
(Reporting by Dena Aubin; Editing by Leslie Adler) Keywords: CABLEVISION ABC/MOODYS (dena.aubin@thomsonreuters.com; +1-646-223-6325; Reuters Messaging: dena.aubin.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
'We award this Oscar to Cablevision as the likely victor, this time,' Moody's said in a report. Disney 'presumably ceded more ground than it would have liked....If not, Cablevision's track record suggests that a blackout of the ABC TV station programming would have almost certainly ensued.'
Cablevision reached a last-minute deal with Disney late on Sunday that returned WABC-TV, the New York-area ABC station, to cable customers 12 minutes into the Oscars, one of the most-watched events of the year. For details click on .
Cablevision gave no financial details of the agreement.
The stalemate stemmed from a dispute over how much cable and satellite companies should pay to carry programming of broadcast networks like ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.
'For Cablevision, the credit implication of losing ABC-7, particularly ahead of the Academy Awards show, would have been negative,' Moody's said. Some Cablevision customers would have defected to other pay-TV providers as they grew increasingly tired of blackouts, the rating agency said.
Cablevision's New York-area customers lost signals from WABC early on Sunday, the second blackout in 2010. In January, Scripps Network Interactive pulled its Food Network and HGTV channels for three weeks in a similar dispute.
'We believe that Cablevision's rivals will benefit from this latest stand-off -- principally Verizon Communications Inc , whose relatively new FiOS fiber-optic TV service has been making inroads into Cablevision's metro-NY markets,' Moody's said.
The stand-off had no impact on Disney's credit profile because ABC and its New York station are only a small part of Disney's overall business, Moody's said.
Still, Disney wanted to set a precedent because it is expected to face another fee fight this summer with Time Warner Cable Inc.
At stake are hundreds of millions of dollars in annual fees that broadcast network affiliates are demanding for their programming from pay-TV providers.
Major broadcast stations will likely win this bid for fees, 'mainly because they have some of the most popular programming content that the cable and other pay TV companies need in order to keep subscribers and stay competitive,' Moody's said.
The biggest losers will be consumers as pay TV companies raise prices to offset the added fees, the rating agency said.
(Reporting by Dena Aubin; Editing by Leslie Adler) Keywords: CABLEVISION ABC/MOODYS (dena.aubin@thomsonreuters.com; +1-646-223-6325; Reuters Messaging: dena.aubin.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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