Why Are Central Minnesotans Favorite Channels Being Blacked Out ?

WHAT MAJOR PROGRAMS WILL BE DISAPPEARING?

How important is cable to your family here in central Minnesota? Are you a family that likes to watch a variety of different programs that range from Disney channels for the kids, to sports and news channels for the adults? Would you be okay if a program like 'Monday Night Football' or Jeopardy' were no longer available for your viewing pleasure?

Photo by Amit Lahav on Unsplash

CHANNEL BLACKOUTS

According to USATODAY, a dispute between Spectrum(Charter) Communications and Disney led to some pretty significant blacked-out programming beginning on Thursday, August 31st, for Spectrum cable subscribers, when they tuned in to ESPN to watch the college football game between Florida, and No. 14 Utah. The game was blacked out, right about the time of the 7 pm kick-off of the game.

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STATEMENTS

I visited their website which featured the following statement:

'The Walt Disney Company has removed their programming from Spectrum. Spectrum is on your side and fighting hard to resolve this situation and keep costs down while protecting and maximizing customer choice. We apologize for the inconvenience.'

SOLUTIONS

I also found options that Spectrum made to help alleviate the problem, but it comes with a cost.

'We have a solution for you. We understand how important it is to be able to access your programming content. To provide our customers choice when it comes to entertainment, we've partnered with a streaming provider to bring you a special offer. Fubo TV is a leading streaming partner that can provide you access to your missing channels. Other streaming options include Sling or YouTube TV.'

I clicked on the available tab that said, "Get Fubo." As I suspected, I could get a special discount for a limited time only, and have instant access to watch ESPN, HGTV, and other channels with no contracts or commitment. The cost, however, would be $74.99 a month. It would bring me 166 channels and the ability to watch my favorite shows on up to 10 screens all at once. They were offering a limited-time 2-month discount at around $56, but either way, I'm thinking to myself, I only watch a handful of shows, and there's a reason why I pay for internet and cable; to save money.

WHERE DO YOU STAND ON THIS DISPUTE?

What do you think about the dispute? Do you think it's fair what's happening with our cable options? Does the average American have the funds to spend on numerous services to get the programming they are used to? Or do you think that it's no big deal- you need to watch less TV anyway?

Let me know what you think about this dispute by sending your comments to kelly.cordes@townsquaremedia.com.

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