Fox and Dish Network take negotiations into late innings

Fox and satellite service Dish Network were closing in on a midnight Thursday deadline to strike a new agreement that would keep FX, National Geographic Channel and a host of regional sports networks on the air.  As of Thursday evening, the two sides were still chipping away on a new contract and it was unclear whether News Corp.'s Fox would pull its channels from the programming packages of Dish's more than 14 million customers.

The Fox broadcast network is not included in the current tussle, although it will become the centerpiece of a separate dispute between the two companies over a contract set to expire Oct. 31. Not coincidentally, that date falls during Major League Baseball's World Series, which Fox televises.

For now, the stakes are lower. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels are scheduled to finish their seasons this weekend with games broadcast by the Fox regional sports channels, Prime Ticket and Fox Sports West.  Dish subscribers would miss out if Fox pulls the channels.  Dish subscribers would also have to skip "The Dog Whisperer" on Friday on the National Geographic Channel, and "Sons of Anarchy" on Tuesday on FX, if the dispute dragged into next week.  

Contentious contract negotiations have become a trend in the television industry as programmers struggle to hike fees to try to cover the rising costs of programming. 

Cable and satellite television providers are trying to hang tough to mollify their customers, who are tired of ever-rising cable bills and now have other pay TV options. 

Already this year, Walt Disney Co. pulled its programming from New York cable giant Cablevision for several hours on the day the Academy Awards were broadcast, and the Hallmark Channel has been off AT&T U-Verse for nearly a month.

Fox and  Cablevision also are headed for an Oct. 15 showdown -- which could cause plenty of angst for fans of the playoff-bound New York Yankees.  If no agreement is reached, Cablevision would lose the right to carry the Fox broadcast network as well as two tiny channels, National Geographic Wild and the Fox Business Network.

The Fox News Channel is not part of either of these disputes.

-- Meg James

Photo by Jay L. Clendenin, Los Angeles Times

The Morning Fix: Revenge of the writers! 'Expendables' not expendable yet. Last words on Comcast-NBC deal. 'Modern Family' co-creator Steve Levitan blasts Hulu.

After the coffee. Before deciding if "Piranha" will have any bite.

"The Expendables" not expendable yet. Looks like the over-the-hill gang will ride again this weekend at the box office. Although there are five new movies opening, "The Expendables" is again expected to finish in first place. According to Los Angeles Times box office guru Ben Fritz, "Nanny McPhee Returns" has a tiny chance to upset "The Expendables," while the rest of the newcomers -- "Lottery Ticket," "Vampires Suck" "The Switch" and "Piranha 3D" will all open in the $7-million to $13-million range.

Getting the last word in. The Federal Communications Commission was busy collecting the final comments from those who want to have a say about cable company Comcast Corp.'s proposed takeover of NBC Universal. According to Multichannel News, satellite broadcaster DirecTV told the regulatory agency that the deal would "would lead to higher prices for content, pose no public benefit and allow the distribution and programming giant to migrate programming to the Internet."  Meanwhile, Comcast found itself in a fight with Allbritton Communications, the parent company of the influential website Politico, which also wants to have a voice at the FCC about the deal. More on that inside-the-Beltway spat from the Los Angeles Times. For more reaction to the deal, see Variety's roundup.

Man your battle stations. As the deadline for a new deal between Walt Disney Co. and Time Warner Cable nears, ESPN executives George Bodenheimer and Sean Bratches were told to trim their vacations and prepare for some late-night negotiations, according to the New York Post. Disney, parent of ABC, ESPN, Disney Channel and ABC Family, and Time Warner Cable have until Sept. 2 to agree on a new distribution deal. After that, the signals of Disney networks could be dropped from Time Warner Cable systems around the country, including New York and Los Angeles. 

How about Jason Schwartzman as Larry Page? While Hollywood continues to struggle to figure out what its relationship should be with search engine giant Google, Deadline Hollywood reports that Groundswell Productions has acquired the rights to Ken Auletta's book "Googled: The End of the World as We Know It." The book follows Google from its creation by founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page to its rise to the top of the digital world. 

Tell us how you really feel. Steve Levitan, a co-creator of ABC's sitcom "Modern Family" took to Twitter this week to air gripes about Hulu, the video website co-owned by ABC parent Walt Disney Co. along with NBC Universal and News Corp. Using the news that Hulu was considering an initial public offering to raise money, Levitan griped that creators are being shut out of any potential revenue from Hulu while at the same time they risk seeing their television audiences decline as shows are made available on other platforms. Levitan, whose concerns are shared by many writers and producers, tweeted the question on the minds of many people when he wrote: "What is Hulu without content? An empty jukebox.” More on Levitan's hate-hate relationship with Hulu from Forbes. 

Reality bites. Endemol, the giant reality-show factory whose production credits include "Big Brother" and "Deal or No Deal" may be facing a harsh reality of its own. According to the Daily Beast's Peter Lauria, Endemol, whose owners include Goldman Sachs, has a $3-billion debt load and is trying to restructure its finances. The company has been on a little buying spree as of late, which Lauria says has put a dent in its liquidity. It also hasn't had any new big hits in a while.

I'm sorry Denis Leary, really! The Wall Street Journal on Friday looks the age-old practice by television writers and producers to sometimes take not-so-subtle revenge on folks who have annoyed them or bad-mouthed their show. Most recently, USA's "Psych" named a murderer after "Entertainment Weekly" critic Ken Tucker. The old NBC show "Just Shoot Me" once had a stalker character named Preston Beckman, which just happened to be the name of the man in charge of scheduling at the network at the time. Heck, yours truly has a judge named after him on "Law & Order." In my case, I will note that it was not a payback for some sin, although I do worry a little that if I ever really irritate that franchise's creator, Dick Wolf, then Judge Joe Flint is going to be arrested on some pretty tawdry charges. I've heard that "Rescue Me" co-creator Denis Leary has taken issue with some of my critiques (I do love the show, Denis, really) so if I end up being roasted in a fire in Harlem, now you know why.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Kenneth Turan on "The Tillman Story."

-- Joe Flint

You really shouldn't need a reason to follow me on Twitter: Twitter.com/JBFlint

The Morning Fix: Google is coming for your TV! CBS has passage to India. BermanBraun rakes in some new dollars. Morty's back in late night.

After the coffee. Before yet another flight to New York. And in August no less.

Google is coming! Google is coming! Search giant Google is getting serious about its small-screen aspirations. The company has been meeting with broadcast and cable networks to try to get access to their content for its new Google TV application that will allow consumers to watch TV through the Web. Of course content providers want to make sure they a) get paid for their programming and b) don't alienate the cable and satellite distributors who already carry their channels. Google's real aim to is to get more ad dollars and leave Apple's television aspirations in the dust. More on Google's big push and what the challenges will be from the Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal.

What's a million dollars between friends? Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. made headlines this week for its $1-million donation to the Republican Governors Assn. This, of course, gave fuel to the left to take shots at Murdoch's Fox News operation. Washington Post media columnist Howard Kurtz, who also works for Fox News rival CNN, followed up on Tuesday's story on this from Politico. A News Corp. spokesman told Kurtz that it is "patently false" that a donation by News Corp. would somehow influence coverage at Fox News. By the way, lots of media companies give money to political causes. The New York Times also weighed in with a article on Rupert's largess. 

Really, it'll happen. Variety checks on Disney's deal to sell Miramax to Ron Tutor, the big-shot construction guy (sorry, I'm tired of saying "construction magnate") and says that although the pact was announced weeks ago, the financing is still not nailed down. The deadline to close is Sept. 7, and odds seem long that it will be met. Of course, Disney could extend it or go back on the market and see if Miramax founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein want to make one more run. 

A passage to India. CBS and India's Reliance Broadcast Network Limited announced early Wednesday morning their plans to launch a joint venture that will create three English-language television channels. The networks, which will launch later this year, will feature both current CBS content and library fare as well. CBS becomes the latest U.S. media company to try to build a presence in India. Here's an early take from the Hollywood Reporter and an old story about the talks from the Wall Street Journal, just to bring you up to speed.

Morty's back. Veteran producer Robert "Morty" Morton is coming back to late night as the show runner for TBS' "Lopez Tonight." Morton was the longtime executive producer for David Letterman. The move comes as Lopez prepares for his show to relocate to midnight to make room for Conan O'Brien. Details from Broadcasting & Cable. 

Read at your own risk. The Wrap says it has come across an e-mail with details of what is in development at Paramount Pictures. Among the projects are a Will Smith movie from director Kathryn Bigelow and a comedy starring Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand. Paramount told the Wrap that some of the material in the e-mail is right and some it is wrong.

Digital dollars. BermanBraun, the entertainment company headed by former TV big shots Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun, has roped in $100 million in advertising commitments from Starcom, a big agency whose clients include Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart. The money is for BermanBraun's digital operations, including its websites Wonderwall and Glo. The New York Times, which always seems to have the inside scoop on these guys, has the story, as does the Wall Street Journal blog All Things D. They can flip a coin to decide which one was fed this first. 

Turner on a roll. "Rizzoli & Isles," the female detective drama featuring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander, is the latest hit for TNT. Although it has hardly been a critical smash, it is drawing big audiences and proves that there is a big appetite for what Ad Age calls "meat and potatoes"-type programming. Variety also weighs in on a piece about cable's hot summer.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Dr. Laura says goodbye to radio. Just because the star leaves, that doesn't mean the show can't go on. Haim Saban buys Julius the Monkey.

-- Joe Flint

Follow me on Twitter. I've been known to tweet from airplanes. Twitter.com/JBFlint

DirecTV saves 'Damages' from death penalty, but legal bills will be expensive

Wonder what Patty Hewes would make of this deal.

In a noteworthy marriage of business interests, Sony Pictures Television and satellite broadcaster DirecTV have reached an agreement that will stay the execution of "Damages," the low-rated but critically acclaimed legal drama starring Glenn Close as cutthroat lawyer Patty Hewes. The show, which had run on News Corp.'s FX cable channel for the last three years and garnered several Emmy Awards, will move to DirecTV's 101 Network.

However, if you are a "Damages" fan but do not have DirecTV, you don't have to subscribe just yet. New episodes won't start airing until late 2011 -- at the earliest. The 101 Network will have reruns of the first three seasons of "Damages" starting next year.

For DirecTV, getting "Damages" is something of a vanity play. FX struggled to justify keeping the show alive, given its small audience (even by cable standards). Last season the show averaged about 1.4 million viewers. Despite winning accolades and thousands of fervent fans, it could not muster large enough ratings to be profitable for the two companies.

It is unlikely that "Damages" on DirecTV will come anywhere near the ratings it was getting on FX. The 101 Network is available only in DirecTV's roughly 18.6 million homes; FX is found in more than 90 million. Furthermore, DirecTV does not have commercials, only sponsorships.

But landing the show for the 101 Network does give DirecTV a marketing hook. Two years ago, the El Segundo-based company entered into an unusual relationship with NBC Universal to run another acclaimed drama, "Friday Night Lights," network. For two seasons, "Friday Night Lights" has shined on DirecTV several months before running on the nationwide NBC broadcast network. 

"Damages" costs more than $2 million an episode to produce. Neither Glenn Close nor her costar Rose Byrne are taking pay cuts as part of DirecTV's deal, a person close to the show said.

As was the case when NBC's drama "Southland" shifted to the cable network TNT, look for a smaller cast and fewer high-profile guest stars when "Damages" returns with new episodes. That would lower some costs, but DirecTV probably will still shell out more than $1 million per episode. DirecTV's agreeing to also buy reruns probably helped Sony deal with swallowing the somewhat smaller license fee.

DirecTV would not comment on the terms of the agreement, but a senior executive said the deal makes sense for the company.

"We’re very comfortable with this," said Executive Vice President Derek Chang.

Chang said he does not consider acquiring "Damages" a loss-leader type deal for the 101 Network.

"There are other ways we justify doing things like this," he said. "It's really about extending and investing in a product you feel good about bringing your customers."

For Sony, DirecTV's involvement mitigates any damages from FX's decision not to continue with the show. With DirecTV committing to an additional 20 episodes of the program, Sony can continue to distribute the show to its foreign buyers. And the deal means that eventually, Sony could sell the show in syndication.  Without  four seasons of completed episodes, other U.S. cable channels would have had little appetite to buy syndicated reruns.

Though FX will no longer be home for "Damages," it will still have a piece of the action. Knowledgeable people say FX Productions will continue to receive a producing credit but has relinquished its financial participation in the show.  

-- Meg James and Joe Flint  

Photo: Rose Byrne and Glenn Close in "Damages." Credit: Craig Blankenhorne / FX

The Morning Fix: Box-office trading gets closer to reality. Michigan says no to cannibalism. Rupert Murdoch goes after BSkyB

After the coffee. Before buying a vuvuzela to annoy my neighbors.

Box-office betting. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission voted to approve a vehicle that will clear the way for professional traders to bet on movie ticket sales. The movie industry's D.C. lobbying arm, the Motion Picture Assn. of America, has fought hard to stop this in its tracks, fearing that trading on box office could be manipulated and hurt the industry. Veriana, the company that got the approval, now has to stop legislation that would ban box-office futures trading. Veriana Chief Executive Rob Swagger blasted the MPAA and the legislation and promised to start lobbying Capitol Hill this week. The first movie traders could bet on is Sony's "Takers." That one stars Matt Dillon, and as much as I like him, it's been a while since he had the lead in a hit. His co-star, Zoe Saldana, is the flavor of the month right now, so maybe that will give the movie a little lift, but it still sounds risky to me. More on the decision and reaction from the Los Angeles Times and Variety.

Rupert wants control of BSkyB. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has made a bid to buy a controlling stake in British Sky Broadcasting, a satellite pay TV service. News Corp. already owns 39% of BSkyB and has offered $11.5 billion for the rest. BSkyB officials are willing to talk to Murdoch about a deal, but they want a higher price. More from Bloomberg and the Telegraph.

State-sanctioned piracy? North Korea's Central Broadcasting service showed the South Africa-Mexico World Cup match, but it didn't have the rights to do so. The Wall Street Journal says South Korea is looking into whether its coverage of the match was ripped off by the North Korean station. If it was, will North Korea be fined or will South Korea just arm every citizen with a vuvuzela and have them blow north?

Fresh ideas needed. With many of the summer's big-ticket movies flaming out, Vulture reports that Hollywood wants (gasp) original ideas for scripts instead of more remakes and sequels. Not to be too cynical, but I'm willing to bet that for every example of a recent script deal for an original concept that this story mentions, I can go find one based on an old TV show or movie.

Well, you have to draw a line somewhere. Michigan denied a tax break to filmmaker Andrew van den Houten, who wanted to shoot "The Women," a horror movie with a cannibalism theme in the state. It would have been his second movie featuring cannibalism to be shot in Michigan. Now though, some states are starting to take a closer look at the movies applying for tax breaks instead of just rubber-stamping a yes to every application. The New York Times sinks its teeth into this one.

Read the fine print. The Daily Beast looks at a bunch of reality shows and shockingly discovers that sometimes the cash and prizes promised winners don't always materialize quite the way participants might have hoped.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Lots of E3 News, including ESPN doing a deal with Microsoft's Xbox and Richard Branson getting back in the game. Also, the romance between Hollywood and video game makers is starting to cool. 

-- Joe Flint

Betting on box office is risky. Following me on Twitter is safe. Twitter.com/JBFlint

Dish Network blinks in fight with Weather Channel

Dish Network, the satellite broadcaster with over 14 million subscribers, backed off its threat to drop the Weather Channel from its service over a contract dispute.

On Thursday, Dish Network said it was removing the Weather Channel in favor of its own weather network, called Weather Cast, that it was launching Friday.

Although Weather Cast did indeed launch, the Weather Channel is also still in Dish Network homes.

Dish Network cited the Weather Channel's addition of movies to its lineup as the reason it was dropping the service.

However, people close to the situation said it was the Weather Channel's push for a higher fee from Dish Network that led to the dispute.

According to SNL Kagan, an industry consulting firm, the Weather Channel charges about 11 cents per month, per subscriber for the channel. The Weather Channel is looking to increase that fee by about 10%.

For now, the two sides are still talking. Dish Network has always been one of the tougher distributors and in the past has shown a willingness to drop networks over fee disputes.

-- Joe Flint

Relations between Weather Channel and Dish Network get stormy

Dish Network, the nation's second largest satellite broadcaster, with just over 14 million subscribers, is planning on dropping the Weather Channel and is starting the "Weather Cast," its own version of the network.

The move comes after Dish and Weather Channel have been unable to reach a new distribution agreement. 

Dish said Weather Cast will "feature live round-the-clock weather reporting" and will replace Weather Channel, which the company said "has recently moved away from weather reporting to a mix of movies and other entertainment-focused programming."

The new channel will premiere at midnight Thursday, when its current deal with Weather Channel expires.

In a statement, Weather Channel said it was disappointed by Dish's move, adding that "despite negotiations over the past several months, Dish has chosen to be the first distributor to drop the Weather Channel rather than pay the industry standard rates others in the industry have already agreed to pay."

According to industry consulting firm SNL Kagan, Weather Channel charges about 11 cents per subscriber, per month. That is one of the lower subscriber fees for a cable channel. Of course, Weather Channel does not have the big ratings of general entertainment networks that charge distributors more for carriage. Weather Channel was seeking to up its fee by nearly 10%, to 12 cents per subscriber, a person close to the situation said. 

The two sides have been arguing over money for several months now, and Dish having a new network ready seems to indicate that it has been prepared to drop Weather Channel for some time.

Weather Channel is owned by a consortium composed of private equity firms Blackstone Group and Bain Capital with NBC Universal holding a minority stake. 

-- Joe Flint

Time Warner Cable to ask FCC for new rules on negotiating programming deals

A group of distributors led by Time Warner Cable is going to file a petition with the Federal Communications Commission later this week, seeking new rules about how broadcasters and distributors can and cannot negotiate carriage deals.

"As we’ve been saying for some time, the FCC’s regulations governing retransmission consent, which were created nearly 20 years ago, are outdated and being exploited by broadcasters to harm consumers," said a Time Warner Cable spokeswoman.

The move comes in the wake of Walt Disney Co.'s decision to yank the signal of its New York television station, WABC, off Cablevision Systems on Sunday when the two sides were unable to reach a deal. Over 3 million homes in the New York City region lost the signal, which wasn't restored until 15 minutes into Sunday's Oscar telecast, when the two companies reached a deal.

Time Warner Cable and other distributors want the FCC to pass rules that would take away a broadcaster's ability to remove a signal during a carriage dispute. Instead, the distributors want an arbitration system put in place.

"The recurring threats of blackouts, high-stakes public “showdown” negotiations, and recent economic analyses have all confirmed what programming distributors have known for years: the retransmission consent regime is broken," the company said.

Other distributors participating with Time Warner in the request to the FCC include Cablevision Systems, Verizon and satellite broadcasters DirecTV and Dish Network, according to people familiar with the plans.

Not taking part in the filing is Comcast Corp., the nation's largest cable operator, which is in the process of trying to acquire control of NBC Universal, which owns lots of broadcast stations and the NBC network. In other words, Comcast has a conflict. Furthermore, with Comcast getting lots of heat about its pending NBC deal from lawmakers concerned about media concentration, the company wants to keep a low profile on this particular squabble.

The American Cable Assn., which represents smaller cable operators around the country, is also on board and wants the FCC to go even further in making some new laws. 

"The suggested remedies in the petition raise some of the ideas the FCC should consider," ACA President Matt Polka said in a statement, adding that as the process moves forward the association would like the regulatory agency to "address also the rampant price discrimination faced by smaller cable operators and their customers and the need for regulations to fix this problem as well."

Time Warner Cable, which went through a bitter negotiation with News Corp.'s Fox Broadcasting late last year, is facing its own battle with Disney over the ABC stations later this year. The FCC filing is seen as the first shot fired across the bow in negotiations.

There is some irony here. Time Warner Cable doesn't want broadcasters to be able to pull their signal during negotiations for a new contract. Yet, 10 years ago, it was Time Warner Cable that dropped the signal of Disney's ABC stations around the country when the two sides were unable to reach a new deal.

-- Joe Flint

DirecTV picks beverage and cosmetics executive as its new chief

DirecTV, the nation's largest satellite television provider, has named Pepsico International chief executive Michael White, who also serves as vice chairman of the beverage giant, to its top job. He replaces former chief executive Chase Carey, who was named chief operating officer of News Corp. in July.

White has no experience in the television or satellite industries. He worked at Pepsico for 18 years, rising from vice president of planning for subsidiary Frito-Lay North America to his most recent post. Prior to that he worked for cosmetics company Avon Products Inc. and consultancies Bain & Co. and Anderson & Co.

White, who starts his job Jan. 1, will report to DirecTV chairman John Malone, whose Liberty Media took a controlling stake in the satellite broadcaster as part of a deal with News Corp. completed last year.

-- Ben Fritz