TV News Roundup: March 3, 2014

ESPN Launches 15 College Conference Channels on Aplle TV, Roku:
College conferences ACC, America East, Atlantic Sun, Big South, Big West, Horizon, Mid-American, Metro Atlantic Athletic, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Southern, Sun Belt, Southland are having their ESPN games and events aggregated into separate channels on the Apple TV and Roku devices.

These are college conferences that do not have their own, dedicated cable networks, like the Big Ten and SEC. You will still have to be a cable subscriber, with ESPN, to access the new channels, as you will need to verify via your prefered cable account.

---

NBCU and ESPN to be Fined by FCC:
NBC Univeral and ESPN networks are looking at fines of nearly two million dollars for airing commercials of the theatrical movie OLYMPIS HAS FALLEN, which used Emergency Alert System tones. The EAS tones can only be used in testing and actual emergencies, and no other time or purposes.

---

Time Warner Cable adds Broadcast Fees to Customer Bills:
Time Warner Cable is adding a line to all of it's customer's bills titled "Broadcast TV Fees" and the additional amount of $2.25 per month. The cable provider wants to educate it's customers to make them aware of the rising costs.

---

STELA Could Kick Broadcasters off Basic Cable Tier:
House Commerce Committee members could change the rules of re-transmission consent negotiations that could result in broadcast channels being removed from the basic cable tier. The current law of STELA (Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act) allows DISH and DirectTV to carry network affiliates from another market if a subscriber can't receive his local station(s) over the air.-the-air. The law also grants the FCC authority to make sure that retransmission consent deals are negotiated in good faith.

The changes that could take place is that cable and satellite companies could treat broadcast stations like any other cable channel and place them in any tier. Those broadcasters would have to negotiate for the placement on the basic tier.

This proposed change has a long way before becoming law and there are lots of people and organizations preparing for the fight.