Scripps Pulls HGTV, Food Network From Cablevision's Menu

Affects 3 million subscribers in N.Y., N.J., Conn.

By Mike Reynolds, Multichannel News -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/1/2010 11:58:34 AM

While the battle between Fox Broadcasting and Time Warner Cable appeared to wage on as the new decade rang in, Scripps Networks Interactive said it has pulled its popular Food Network and HGTV channels from more than 3 million Cablevision Systems subscribers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

In a statement issued at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1, Scripps said the channels "went off the air on Cablevision systems in New York City, Long Island and the Tri-State Region at midnight New Year's Eve after the cable operator failed to negotiate acceptable rates for the programming distribution rights."

On Cablevision Systems in New Jersey, the MSO is running this message on both HGTV and Food: "We wanted to keep bringing you these channels. We apologize for the inconvenience. For more visit www.cablevision.com/scripps. Why? Cablevision has tried to reach a fair agreement." 

A similar message was running on Cablevision's system reaching Westchester County, New York.

Scripps has been reportedly seeking significant increases in carriage fees for Food, which according to SNL Kagan was receiving on average about 9 cents per subscriber per month. The higher rated HGTV was receiving about 12 cents per month, according to SNL Kagan. At the UBS Global Media and Communications conference last month, Scripps Networks chairman and CEO Ken Lowe had said the programmer would seek substantial increases for Food Network.

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