This post is important and time sensitive.
Fox is renegotiating their carriage fees as we speak. We have a unique opportunity to make a significant difference.
Please read this post and learn more. If you or someone you know has cable, you can make a REAL difference.
Quick Facts
- Carriage fees are what cable providers pay networks in order to carry their programming.
- These fees are negotiated and the contracts are worth billions of dollars.
- Cable customers play a large role in these negotiations. Customers who speak up can affect whether a network retains their contract and what that contract is worth.
- Fox currently retains the SECOND HIGHEST carriage fees on basic cable (after ESPN) and they are currently negotiating an exorbitant increase their income.
- If you have cable, you’re paying for Fox whether you watch them or not.
FOX currently makes approximately $1.8 billion per year from hidden subscriber fees (twice as much as CNN and three times as much as MSNBC). They are currently negotiating a SIGNIFICANT raise in their carriage fees — an additional billion dollars per year. Enough to make up for lawsuits and retain their position as the figurehead of dangerous right wing media.
Why Does This Matter?
Fox makes so much money from these passive fees that they didn’t need to worry when all of their advertisers walked out. In fact, one of the reasons why the Fox Fee is so large is to make up for their massive advertising losses – they are passing these fees onto everyone – instead of facing consequences for their irresponsibility, they are simply asking for a raise.
Fox makes billions EVEN IF NO ONE WATCHES. These fees subsidize their agenda and make it so that they can be as radical as they like without having to worry about consequences — including legal repercussions.
What Can We Do?
If you have cable, you can let your cable company know that you have no interest in paying for Fox. This is not just a tweet into the void or a petition that no one sees. Cable providers DO listen to these requests. So much so that networks spend hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising campaigns to get subscribers to call their cable companies and demand the network.
In fact, one cable provider had so many requests to remove Fox from people’s bills that they now allow people to remove Fox from their basic cable package altogether.
How To Do It
Media Matters has created a very simple online tool to help people reach their cable provider. If you go to https://unfoxmycablebox.com/ their tool will send you the information you need to contact your cable provider.
COMCAST (XFINITY), SPECTRUM, and COX Customers:
These contract negotiations are underway as we speak. If you go to the Media Matters site, https://www.nofoxfee.com/ they have quicklinks that will allow you to call or message your cable provider and let them know that you don’t want to pay for Fox. Calling is better than sending a message.
Learn more.
If you would like to learn more about carriage fees, Fox’s proposed increase, and how these fees allow Fox to act without consequence, watch this interview with Bryan Tyler Cohen and Media Matters CEO, Angelo Carousone