AT&T suspended Univision for millions of households due to its dispute with Univision Communications.
On March 3, 2016, Spanish-language television channel Univision was not available for the customers of AT&T’s U-Verse pay television due to a battle between both the businesses over carriage charges.
Other TV channels offered by the company, including the UniMas, were also blacked out, stated the American telecommunications service provider. The blackout does not include English language cable channel ‘Fusion’, which is a joint project between Walt Disney Company and Univision.
The companies did not reveal how many customers have been affected. Univision spokesman alleged AT&T of practicing discrimination against the primarily Hispanic audience of Univision.
AT&T rejected the allegations of discriminating against Univision, noting that U-Verse carries 78 Spanish-language channels. The telecom turned into the biggest pay-tv service provider of the US when it purchased satellite TV service provider DirecTV in 2015. There are indications that its size is taking a new dominant position in the carriage negotiations, a pattern that has emerged on earnings calls for some media service providers.
Later in 2016, the telecom will start providing DirecTV’s internet-streaming vision to battle with facilities such as Sling TV of Dish Network Corporation, one-month package offered for $20 that includes TV channels such as ESPN.
The company’s plans to hold an IPO this year could be hurt by the expanded blackout. In the early 2007, Univision went private. It aimed to go public in 2015 but that effort was postponed.
CNN money reports 6 million households witnessed the blackout as U-Verse TV service expired. Such kinds of television blackouts usually happen when distributors and programmers cannot agree on the new agreement terms. They usually get resolved in few days, but some extend for months and weeks.
The US media company is owner of 60 stations that serve 19 markets including Puerto Rico. Its channel ‘Univision’ is the most watched Spanish language TV channel. These markets have an affiliation with its sibling UniMas and mothership network. The channel has never been blacked out by the TV system of any major distributor.
In other news, Daily Reckoning reported that the Michigan-based company will begin selling cable television across the web by using a new application. Subscribers would not need the company’s broadband connection or wireless phone at their houses.
Obviously, AT&T yet wants people to purchase a subscription of a broadband, which needs an installation visit. The telecom will encourage the public to purchase broadband, TV service and wireless together.
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