Speed will become Fox Sports 1. G4 is becoming The Esquire Network. Fox Soccer will be FXX. Low-rated cable networks are rebranding right and left, changing their names and programming lineups to cull more viewers, and the pay-TV operators who distribute them are irked.
DIRECTV and Time Warner have both expressed wariness of unproven shows they claim they didn’t pay for when original deals with the rebranded networks were struck. They are also worried about increased carriage fees from the networks, which the cable companies are fearful of passing on to consumers.
For their part, the cable networks believe they are creating better programming that people want to watch and adding value to their parent companies, and that improving ratings benefits both sides of the equation.
Read the full story at Ad Age.
Tags: