Introducing the latest retransmission consent impasse to result in a “blackout,” by law, of broadcast and cable television channels associated with Comcast’s NBCUniversal arm. The service that is prohibiting its paid subscribers from getting these channels?
Look no further than the “sports first” virtual MVPD now owned by The Walt Disney Company.
In an announcement to Fubo subscribers, shared by the Smullin Family’s KOBI-5 in Medford, Ore., on Friday, NBC and Fubo were unable to come to agreement on renewal of their distribution agreement.
As such, Fubo had no other option under federal law but to “discontinue carriage” of the NBC stations in the absence of a fresh agreement as of 5pm Eastern on November 21.
Affiliates including KOBI-5 are impacted, as the networks — not independently owned “Big Four” affiliate owners — handle vMVPD carriage agreements on their behalf.
In Southern Oregon, that led KOBI-5 to instruct viewers impacted by the impasse to invest in an over-the-air antenna, consider a traditional cable TV service provider, get either Dish or DirecTV, or consume local KOBI-5 content via its mobile app or website.
With a commitment to being “sports first,” the lack of a retransmission consent deal prevented NFL fans from watching the Los Angeles Rams’ dominant win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football.
In a statement, Fubo said it has “been engaged in good faith negotiations with NBCUniversal” to renew a “long-standing content agreement” to distribute their networks to consumers.
There’s just one key difference today regarding Fubo: It is no longer an independently owned and operated company, but a division of NBCU rival Disney, parent to ESPN and ABC. The sale of Fubo to Disney was completed on October 29, and Fubo’s business is now combined with Disney’s Hulu + Live TV business, as Disney, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery made an aggregate cash payment to Fubo of $220 million.
For Fubo, the vMVPD “believes customers should have the option to choose among multiple distributors to access the content they love. Unfortunately, NBCU has offered terms regarding pricing and packaging that are egregiously above those offered to other distributors. There is no basis for this discrimination and, as a result, Fubo subscribers would either be denied important content or be forced to pay what we believe to be exorbitant costs.”
While NFL fans couldn’t tune in to NBC on Sunday evening, Premier League English football matches and college football games were also blocked from fans, leading many to vent on social media.
NBCU’s response to Fubo? The Comcast unit says the vMVPD has chosen to drop NBCUniversal programming despite being offered the same terms agreed to by hundreds of other distributors.” NBCU added in a statement provided to The New York Times that “this is par for the course for Fubo — they’ve dropped numerous networks in recent years at the expense of their customers, who continue to lose content.”
As such, it is unknown as to when NBC local affiliates, Bravo, CNBC, Golf Channel, MSNBC, MS NOW, Telemundo Accion and other NBCU offerings will reappear on Fubo.
