# Bye bye, ABC? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 11, 2000, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bye-bye-abc/13661 "2000-02-11T22:56:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2000, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bye-bye-abc/13661/1 "2000-02-11T22:56:00Z")
I’m looking at the TV Guide website to decide what I’m going to view tonight when I see this message: “Time Warner Cable does not have permission from WABC to carry WABC after 02/15/00. If we are unable to gain permission, we may be required to cease carrying WABC after Feb. 15th. We will keep you advised” What odds of that actually happening? Should I go out and buy rabbit ears so I can watch NYPD Blue? * * * **Marge** : Your father is… resting. **Bart** : “Resting” hung over? “Resting” got fired? Help me out here. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2000, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bye-bye-abc/13661/2 "2000-02-11T22:57:00Z")
This happened to us with Fox at the beginning of the year. We didn’t get Fox for about a week, then they reached an agreement. * * * – “it’s all real” “I KNEW IT!!!” O p a l C a t [www.opalcat.com](http://www.opalcat.com) ---
**Author:** ![SterlingNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@SterlingNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SterlingNorth)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2000, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bye-bye-abc/13661/3 "2000-02-11T23:01:00Z")
Back in January, due to an spat between Cox Communications and Fox, we lost our local affiliate, WTTG for about a week here. Due to a different dispute, in Hampton Roads they’ve been without Fox since [November](http://www.cox.com/HamptonRoads). So yes, it could actually happen. * * * Tell a man that there are 400 billion stars and he’ll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint and he has to touch it. ---
**Author:** ![SterlingNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@SterlingNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SterlingNorth)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2000, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bye-bye-abc/13661/4 "2000-02-11T23:04:00Z")
## Lovely day for a simulpost, don’t ya’ think Opal. This drive-by posting has been brought to you by “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” Now being sued because our contestants are too smart! ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2000, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bye-bye-abc/13661/5 "2000-02-11T23:13:00Z")
> [@](#): > > What odds of that actually happening? Slim, but as **Opal** and **SterlingNorth** correctly point out, not zero. Basically, if ABC wants to get carried on cable (they do), they will. Broadcasters are in a good position _vis a vis_ cable. There is a “must-carry” rule that states that cable providers have to carry any broadcast channel that wants to be on the system, which is why one of the channels that could be the Golf Channel is being clogged up by Loser Channel 67. But the cable companies need _permission_ to carry the broadcasters. Since the big broadcasters still account for a large plurality of TV viewers, they try to use their unusually strong negotiating positions to try to strong-arm cable companies. ABC is likely to ask for things like moving ESPN II down to the basic tier, a new channel for Disney, stuff like that. The cable companies, having essentially no power in the deal, post messages like the one you saw in the hopes that people will call ABC and express their concern. They want to win the battle on the public relations front, hoping ABC will cave or at least be more reasonable. From time to time all this brinksmanship causes a short outage, as happened in the D.C. area with Fox. But much more often the companies reach a deal. Look for Nick at Nite to get a better channel position, and maybe a new news channel or something. Fox acts tougher (and is smaller, so less able to **be** tough), and cable companies largely hate Murdoch, so the odds of an outage are far higher when Fox is up for renewal. Especially, as I’ve mentioned before, when the cable company has Captain Ted as the largest shareholder. * * * Livin’ on Tums, vitamin E and Rogaine ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2000, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bye-bye-abc/13661/6 "2000-02-11T23:16:00Z")
> [@](#): > > There is a “must-carry” rule that states that cable providers have to carry any broadcast channel that wants to be on the system… I thought that was the case, Manny. I wasn’t going to open my yap until I found a cite for it though. ---
**Author:** ![SterlingNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@SterlingNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SterlingNorth)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2000, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bye-bye-abc/13661/7 "2000-02-11T23:30:00Z")
Illiteracy is catching up with me. Correction: The outage in Hampton Roads has been going on since **1/1/00**. January 1[sup]st[/sup], not November 1[sup]st[/sup]. “Must-Carry” is usually invoked by small broadcast channels to otherwise force the cable company to carry a channel that very few people will watch. Usually the cheap independents, Pax, PBS etc. The main players (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, etc.) tend to prefer the option where they get to negotiate under what conditions their channel is aired. The broadcasters are hoping that the cable company is frightened by the prospect losing money because people drop their service (now for satellite, since they’ve been granted permission to carry over-the-air networks). * * * Tell a man that there are 400 billion stars and he’ll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint and he has to touch it.