Now Showing on Food Network and HGTV: Dead Air

by Jess Kapadia | 3:40 pm, January 5th, 2010

» 10 comments

Relying on the cult viewership of one of its most popular shows, Iron Chef America, Food Network had literally been plugging its Iron “Super Chef” Battle complete with secret guest judge and ingredient of “national importance” (spoiler: Michelle Obama and White House garden veggies) online and on TV for months when their airwaves in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut went blank. Actually they didn’t go blank – but that’s just the beginning of the story.

As of January 1st, 2010, Scripps Networks has chopped its channels from Cablevision while the two media companies continue to negotiate broadcasting fees. Currently and until further notice, when viewers flip to Food Network or HGTV, they’ll see a white screen stamped with network logos and hear a looped message expressing sorrow for the absence of their food porn with a steaming side of “take it up with Scripps.”

Battle Cable rages on, infuriating spatula-wielding stay-at-home moms and robbing the Tri-State area’s angel-faced children of freshly baked cookies. Scripps’ proposed 200% fee increase, up from an average annual increase of about four percent, would significantly increase rates for Cablevision subscribers to an estimated 75 cents per month for the two channels, viewed by over 2 million households during primetime hours alone. This presents the risk that Cablevision customers will walk their gardening Crocs right over to rival Verizon Fios to get their fix.

Scripps declined the offer to keep HGTV and Food Network on air while
negotiations continue, prompting some to wonder if, in its cuddly corporate heart, they’re considering their loyal, Slap Chop-buying viewers.

Why can’t this be more like the recent Time Warner/Fox settlement,
casualty-free just in time for the Sugar Bowl? Dare we compare football and Jack Bauer to mini-quiches and fixing dry rot?

Cablevision, Food Network, HGTV, Michelle Obama, Scripps

puck30

Jess, just remember we are talking about Cablevision& The Dolans here.

Cablevision, The same system that kept The Yankees off the air for a whole year. Not saying your wrong. But could you get a statement from Scripps about this.

When it comes to Cablevision, I have to look at this sideways.
ImNotBlue

Wow… I was waiting for an article on this for a while… but, wow. That was really obnoxiously written. I should have waited longer. Yeesh.
Colby Hall

well if anyone is an expert on obnoxious writing, it would be you ImNotBlue.
The Real Royal King

I tend to agree with you, Colby.
personwhomakescomments

LOL so true, Colby!
This Blue character is such a leech – he sinks his nasty testicles into EVERY media/media-related blog he can find, and then puts in his two cents on EVERY topic, for almost EVERY response that ANYONE makes which disagrees with his POV.

I sure hope Blue and “TfT” don’t ever make any babies………..
ImNotBlue

Colby Hall says:
January 5, 2010 at 5:26 pm

well if anyone is an expert on obnoxious writing, it would be you ImNotBlue.

It’s true. I do read this site a lot… seems to be a prerequisite for your writers.

But is this the new Mediaite policy? Insult the readers? Well, at least you’re now doing it more openly, instead of with biased and misleading articles. I guess this IS an improvement.

personwhomakescomments says:
January 5, 2010 at 7:08 pm

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAA. Someone uses the comment section to make comments I don’t agree with. WAAAAAAAAAAA.”
Colby Hall

I don’t understand. You claim to be insulted, not just by these comment but by the biased and misleading articles? So then — why do you spend so much time on this site if you are so easily insulted?
ImNotBlue

Colby Hall says:
January 6, 2010 at 11:58 am

Glutton for punishment… no, that’s not it.

Good debate fosters strong opinions and is fun… kinda, but good debate is hard to find.

Because without someone commenting (like me, Tft, Smithee, and others), your biased and misleading stories might be confused for “the truth” or fair media criticism, not ideological spin! Yeah… let’s go with that one!

Or maybe I’m just hoping that one day, Mediaite will become the site that it pretends to be… instead of HuffPo-lite. I dunno… take your pick.

Oh, and a quick follow-up question: If you find my comments so obnoxious… why have a comment section at all? Clearly, I’m getting under your skin… you’re displeased that your efforts to present a one-sided view are getting noticed, instead of flying stealthily under the radar. I’ll take that all as a pat on the back. “Good job, INB… you’ve caught us again,” says Colby.

Aw… now you’re making me blush.
Colby Hall

its clear that you’re less interested in a dialogue, and more interested in just reading your own words. or, as evidenced above, maybe just having a conversation with yourself?
ImNotBlue

Colby Hall says:
January 6, 2010 at 3:13 pm

Okay… let’s dialogue. What would you like to talk about? How most articles on this site attack FNC or Right-of-Center people? How articles talking about MSNBC, CNN, or Left-of-Center people are most often positive and complimentary? Or how so many of your writers seem to have contempt for the readers of this site, and the commenters who don’t expressly agree with them?

I’ll let you pick the topic. Go…