As some out there may be aware there is currently a dispute between Cablevision and the Scripps network. For more detail on the dispute you can go here but the brief explanation is that Scripps wants to raise the rates they charge Cablevision for the rights to HGTV and The Food Network. Cablevision does not want to pay the increased rates and the networks have been pulled from Cablevision. I’m not interested in taking sides other than hoping they get an agreement in place because my wife is going to go ballistic if she does not get her HGTV fix soon. This situation is something that has happened in the past and most recently with the spat between Fox and Time Warner Cable. I have a feeling these disputes will become more common as these old media dinosaurs attempt to squeeze as much money out of each other as possible while ignoring the massive change going on around them.
Neither Cablevision nor Scripps Get It
The fact that neither company understands the power of the Internet is obvious by the fact that neither Scripps nor Cablevision are buying any ads on their branded keywords to explain their side of the dispute. A couple of quick searches shows that Scripps is doing nothing at all to present their side. Cablevision has created a page on their site that appears at the top of the organic search results which is great but they are missing an opportunity to buy paid search ads on searches related to their dispute. At least they have something unlike Scripps who seems content to let other sites control the conversation. Check the screenshot that shows the lack of sponsored listings (even from competitors who would take advantage of this dispute if they were smart but that’s a different discussion)
Scripps and Cablevision: Evolve or Die
Old school media companies are fighting as hard as they can to retain a piece of the pie that is slowly slipping out of their hands. Instead of actually innovating and trying new things they continue to cling to their old business models that are not compatible with the current reality. Scripps is losing money on its print media business so they try to make it up by raising the rates for their popular TV networks. Cablevision knows they can only pay so much without losing subscribers who can get much of the same content online for free. Instead of working together to create a new mutually beneficial partnership they are fighting over a few dollars that are eventually going to go to another company that is actually innovating. The fact that neither Scripps nor Cablevision are actively pushing their side of the conversation online once again shows how little they understand about the new reality and why they are doomed if they don’t evolve.
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