U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey yesterday called on Verizon and the new owner of Fox 25 to resolve the fee dispute that led to Thursday’s blackout of the TV station for FiOS subscribers, which caused about 400,000 Massachusetts households to miss Thanksgiving football.
“For many Massachusetts consumers, Black Friday was preceded by blackout Thursday and could be followed by further programming blackouts until Cox Media Group and Verizon come to agreement,” the Bay State Democrat and member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee said in a statement. “That’s not right; the consumer shouldn’t be caught in the middle. I urge both sides to continue working to resolve this dispute so consumers can access all of the programming they have paid for and expect from their video provider.”
The blackout came after Verizon and Cox failed to renew their deal for “retransmission consent” fees, which are the amount providers pay broadcast networks to carry their programming.
There were no new negotiations yesterday between the two parties, and it was unclear when Fox shows would return to the Verizon FiOS lineup.
The two sides continued blaming each other for the interruption in programming to viewers who subscribe to Verizon FiOS for their TV service.
Verizon spokesman Phil Santoro said in an email that Cox is asking for millions more in fees and urged Cox to “reconsider these drastic and anti-competitive tactics” and return to the negotiating table to reach a deal.
Overall content costs have risen cumulatively 20-30 percent since 2010,” Santoro said. “Verizon is taking a stand for our customers.”
Tom Raponi, vice president and general manager of Dedham-based Fox 25, said Cox has made itself available to negotiate and is awaiting Verizon’s response to its most recent proposal, although he declined to specify what that offer entails.
“As far as rates go, Verizon is misleading its customers,” Raponi said in an email. “The rate Fox 25 is seeking from Verizon is far less than Verizon already pays for other channels with ratings that are a fraction of Fox 25’s. For the average subscriber, the rate for Fox 25 would be just a few pennies per day.”
