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TV tidbits: KVUE vs. DirecTV; new sports reporter; Longhorn Network update
Happy Wednesday! A couple of items to pass along, friends …
KVUE’s Cory Hepola
- Belo Corp., owner of Austin’s KVUE, has yet to reach an agreement with DirecTV and could disappear from the satellite provider’s lineup on Nov. 1.
Here’s a statement I got a short time ago from Patti Smith, the station’s president and general manager:
“KVUE is currently working on an agreement with DirecTV which would allow the station’s signal to be carried by the satellite video provider for years to come. However, if an agreement is not reached by midnight on November 1st, the station’s signal may not be available to DirecTV subscribers. We have attempted to negotiate with DirecTV for months to reach an agreement and avoid any disruption in service. Further, our parent company, Belo Corp. has reached agreements with numerous other providers resulting in no disruption of service to our viewers.”
- Speaking of KVUE, the station has hired a new sports reporter.
Cory Hepola comes to Central Texas after a three-year stint in Rochester, N.Y.
- November sweeps starts tomorrow.
Expect local stations to pull out all the stops so you’ll tune in.
Ratings during sweeps months are used to set advertising rates. More viewers = more revenue.
- Saturday’s Texas-Kansas game airs exclusively on the Longhorn Network which, as you likely know by now, isn’t available on most Central Texas cable systems.
Grande and Verizon FiOS, which serve just portions of our area, are your only options.
Here’s a statement I received today from ESPN, which partnered with UT to launch LHN:
“Grande and Verizon FiOS carry Longhorn Network locally. We’ve attempted to do similar deals with Time Warner Cable, DirecTV, AT&T U-Verse, Dish and Comcast. Unfortunately, these operators have not engaged in active negotiations in the past month. We are disappointed they are choosing to deprive Texas fans of this weekend’s Kansas-UT game, as well as other valuable content.”
Stay tuned …
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By scott
October 27, 2011 7:18 AM | Link to this
The University should make an apology to the UT fans for their abysmal handling of LHN..
By DESK
October 26, 2011 6:07 PM | Link to this
The LHN needs to Go Away!!