Waiting for a signal
No resolution between cable provider, broadcast company
Yuma resident Nena Garcia is fed up with the dispute between a local cable provider and a broadcasting company that has left her family unable to view several local channels for more than a month. Frustrated, Garcia took to Facebook to “rant” about her experience.
She noted the last straw was Monday when she received a cable bill from Spectrum and it showed an increase in broadcast TV surcharges, when she was expecting to see a decrease in the fee.
She couldn’t get customer service staff to reduce her bill and requested a supervisor, who asked her what made her believe she would see a decrease in her bill. “I stated, there is a decrease of service and an increase of service charge. It doesn’t make sense. He reminded me that I don’t have a contract and I can end the service at any time.
“I replied, ‘That sounds like a good idea.” He asked when would I like to end the service. I responded, ‘Right now.’ I just saved myself $85.”
Cable provider Spectrum/ Charter Communications pulled NBC, CBS and Estrella programming from the lineup on Feb. 2, after Spectrum and Northwest Broadcasting, which owns the local channels, failed to negotiate a new agreement.
On Monday the Yuma Sun asked Spectrum how many subscribers the company has lost while negotiations are at a standstill. “We don’t provide customer numbers at the local level for competitive reasons,” said Dennis Johnson, director of Spectrum’s West Regional Communications.
In a March 1 letter to viewers, Brian Brady, CEO of Northwest Broadcasting, said his company has heard from thousands of Spectrum subscribers over the past few weeks.
“Many are frustrated but most are downright angry,” he wrote. “A common theme in most of your communications is why can’t the two of you sit down and solve this? Well, the reason is that Spectrum pulled the channels down, walked away from the negotiation and wouldn’t communicate with us. When you hear that, most say, that’s just stupid. We agree.”
Brady said he recently reached out to Spectrum “to see if we could find some common ground in an effort to resolve this. After two conversations, it became abundantly clear to me that they had no desire to negotiate or felt any urgency to bring back our
programming.”
Asked how negotiations are going, Johnson replied, “There is no update and the fundamental facts haven’t changed.” He pointed out that “Northwest’s fee increase demands are outrageous — double what we pay any other broadcast station — especially given that their programming is available free over the air and online.
“This is simply how Northwest operates. — Northwest has pulled its programming from nearly all other distributors: Verizon, DirecTV, Dish and Cable One. They went dark with Verizon and Cable One just last year,” Johnson noted.
He then reiterated some of the points made on Spectrum’s website www.northwestfairdeal.com: “Spectrum has offered a fair proposal, with fee increases that are well above inflation and the cost of living for the same programming.
“We are fighting to keep costs down for our customers. The rising cost of programming is the single greatest factor in higher cable prices.
“We are very disappointed with their decision to pull their channels, which has negatively impacted our customers. Our negotiations are about one thing; reaching an agreement that is fair to our customers.”
Johnson invited subscribers to check for updates on the website, which has an email form for addressing the top executives of Northwest. However, Brady pointed out that the way Spectrum built the website, Northwest cannot respond to the emails.
“The robo-emails are sent to us are from an unmonitored ‘no-reply@charter’ account so there is no way for Northwest to respond and tell the other side of the story,” Brady said.
He noted that “an extremely small number” of customers have been successful in getting discounts for the disruption. “In reality, you have a contract with them that says they will deliver the stations you are paying for. It is very simple, if you are not getting what you pay for, you are contractually entitled to a refund.”
Brady said that while some viewers have received refunds, others are being denied those same refunds. “I have also been told that some viewers are getting a nickel a day and others have been refunded $33.”
He also encourages viewers to email Tom Rutledge, CEO of Spectrum, to share their frustration. His email address is Tom.Rutledge@ chartercom.com and his phone number is (203) 9057999.
Brady noted that until the states or local government forces Spectrum “to do the right thing, they will act upon their self-interest first and continue to act in total disregard toward their customers.”
The local government has gotten involved. The city is seeking damages in the amount of $864 for every day that Spectrum blacks out the local channels and demanding that the cable provider credits Yuma subscribers for dropping the channels without notice.
On Feb. 6, Yuma Assistant City Attorney Dan White sent a letter to Charter Communications, Spectrum’s parent company, accusing the cable provider of breaching its license with the city and violating federal requirements.
According to White, the license requires Spectrum to comply with federal law, including FCC regulations which call for giving subscribers a 30-day notice of impending changes to services, allowing them to decide whether they want to reduce services or drop them altogether.
The letter also notes that Spectrum did not notify the city of its intention to black out the channels as required by the license. White calls for “immediate action” to resolve the situation, including restoration of the channels “at least until you are able to provide the required notices.”
The letter noted that the agreement with the city says subscribers will receive a credit if service is substantially impaired and that it expects that Charter/Spectrum will provide a credit to all subscribers.
White said the interruption is subject to “liquidated damages,” which amount to $864.39 per day and began accruing immediately upon breach and will continue to accrue until service is restored or Spectrum has complied with the 30-day notice requirement.