innovative cable

I think it's about 23 stations, all owned by Viacom. Includes MTV and a slew of others. If you turn on MTV there is a ticker running on the bottom which mentions this news.

If we lose the stations, Innovative should give us a freaking discount on our bills since we're not getting the same # of stations in our package anymore.

Viacom is in the middle of a "power play" with small cable companies all over the US mainland. They are raising their rates effective yesterday. Most cable companies are fighting back, because the cost for customers would be prohibitive. This increase, for the most part, would be carried on the backs of viewers who do not even watch Viacom programming.

Bad move by Viacom...

Yes, it's not just Innovative. The cable industry as a whole is experiencing big changes. I cut the cord a long time ago and watch the few shows I watch streamed on Amazon Prime.

Yes, but regardless of the reason, if Innovative loses 23 of their 62 channels (or whatever the # is for the extended package) and is therefore not providing the same # of channels in the package, then a discount should be given.

For most cable companies it is only about three or four channels. Here it might be MTV, BET and Nickelodeon. Most of the other channels have few viewers. Though, if it is your favorite shows being lost then you will complain.

It is all about money. Google Viacom rates and read all about it.

I could have sworn I read somewhere that Innovative will lose 23 channels. It might have been a small notice in the Avis. I'll have to look for it.

17 channels per Innovative in a story in the Avis.

Thank you Dish Network... 😎

that is crazy, might have to switch to that roku afteral. hubby has been avoiding it because of the sports he likes to watch

Roku, $80, Netflix $8, USTVNOW $30/month plus all the other Roku channels, We have the $50 BBVI and are cable and landline free. With the proper cords you can steam from your phone or PC. uSTV has all the networks for sports.

what is ustv now? does this play football/golf/wrestling?

17 channels per Innovative in a story in the Avis.

Thank you Dish Network... 😎

Dish Network does the same thing. In January 2010 they eliminated 2/3 of our HD channels and raised our rates. Both in the same month.
And we still haven't gotten all of the HD channels back.

in 2010........I didn't even have an HD receiver back then....what did Innovative cost in 2010, and how many HD channels did they have?

At least I can watch what I want, when I want, with Dish. And in HD.

Compared to Innovative.

Dish Network does the same thing. In January 2010 they eliminated 2/3 of our HD channels and raised our rates. Both in the same month.
And we still haven't gotten all of the HD channels back.

Which HD channels? Must not be ones I watch as I've never missed them!

in 2010........I didn't even have an HD receiver back then....what did Innovative cost in 2010, and how many HD channels did they have?

At least I can watch what I want, when I want, with Dish. And in HD.

Compared to Innovative.

I have had Dish HD since the Model 6000 receiver came out back in 2002. So you might see how it would feel when you lost 2/3 of the HD channels along with a rate increase. We still don't get the HD versions of most of the Premium Movie channels. No Science Channel in HD. No Military Channel in HD. No FoxNews in HD. We used to get them all. There are many more that we only get the SD versions of.

But we still pay the same as all of the subscribers in the US who do get them all.

I can understand that. But I don't have any of those premium channels, don't do PPV, and I just downgraded to the 120 package.

And it's still better than Innovative, I'm sure.

I agree. Dish is better than Innovative. But Dish is not as good as Dish used to be and it is more expensive than it used to be. That is the reason that I mentioned it. People expect Innovative to give a discount because it drops channels, Dish dropped channels and raised the price.

I have started the Dish downgrade also. I have dropped the premium movie package, dropped from top 250 to top 200, dropped national PBS, dropped Blockbuster@Home. My next downgrade will be from top 200 to top 120

I have switched to Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Instant. I am trying USTVNOW for HD Networks.

http://tvonmyside.com/homepage-current-disputes/viacom-mtv-networks

Networks Affected

BET, CMT, CMT Pure Country, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Nicktoons, Teen Nick, Palladia, Spike, TR3s, TV Land, VH1, VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul.

Viacom/MTV Networks May Pull 17 Channels From Innovative’s Line-up At Midnight

The National Cable Telecommunications Cooperative (NCTC), a national not-for-profit Cable TV cooperative that negotiates programming fees for Innovative Cable TV and 1,000 cable companies across the United States and its territories, is still in negotiations with Viacom/MTV Networks. Viacom/MTV Networks are currently demanding fee hikes that amount to over 40 times the rate of inflation.

http://stthomassource.com/content/business/st-thomas-business/2014/04/01/viacommtv-networks-may-pull-17-channels-innovative-s-

well, if so it will be a roku for me and ustvnow. wwe has a website that you pay for, football can be watched the next day of nfl.com for a yearly fee, though that is not what hubby wants. i guess there are other options. now what about golf?

The thing with Viacom will most likely be over in a week and channels restored, says my insider in the cable industry. 😉 Probably why Innovative hasn't announced any pricing changes yet. It's a dance at the moment.

But for the long haul the cable industry is suffering and many old models aren't going to work any longer, especially college sports which are paid for primarily by television revenues. The next 20 years are going to be interesting.

Things are already changing rapidly. It is not going to take 20 years.

The new model for video delivery is rolling out currently and that is delivery by ISP over broadband. USTVNOW is just one of the first.

What has to happen though for things to radically change is bundling of packages of channels. How many of the VIACOM channels do you actually care about? Innovative carries them because in order to get one they have to buy all AND deliver them to all or most of their subscribers so VIACOM in addition to getting paid by the CATV operator can also sell advertising.

Sports is also the other thing that needs to change. Half your cable bill is going to pay for sports rights. ESPN forces CATV operators to pay $5.50 or more for each subscriber and to include ESPN in most service tiers.

Correct, Jim. My comment about "20 years" is really more about the effect that people cutting the cord from cable and mainstream TV is going to have on industries that derive the bulk of their profits from those mediums, i.e. college and pro sports. We're going to see changes in not only how content is provided to viewers, but how that content is provided and even created. It comes down to - what programming are people willing to pay for? Will "a la carte" purchasing by network or even series allow for continued high quality programming?

My opinion is that we are going to lose a lot of programming as the cash cows dry up, both now and in the years to come.

An interesting article from this morning about just this very thing:

What We All Pay for Sports

I would not mind a "no sports" package.The pros get paid too much and the kids want to be unionized. Phthh....

I hate having to pay for all the channels I will never, ever watch. Sports, MTV, Spanish programming and all the other crap my remote will never get tuned to. Wish we could just pay for what we wanted and not have all the junk cluttering up the programing. That goes for the music channels and the shopping channels. There are so many.