Scripps announced it will air the Food Network's "Iron Chef America: Super Chef Battle" for free on broadcast two channels in New York and Connecticut, following a Cablevision-Scripps Networks fee dispute. The program, featuring a guest appearance by First Lady Michelle Obama, will air January 10.
Scripps pulled Food Network and HGTV from Cablevision on January 1 after the two parties failed to reach an agreement.
From The Wall Street Journal:
The broadcast will be accompanied by a new marketing push about the dispute, featuring Scripps's on-air hosts, the latest in a series of salvos from each side in the programming dispute. Cablevision, for its part, launched an advertisement on its local cable systems Tuesday that named Scripps's chief executive, Ken Lowe, and described Scripps's actions as a "blatant attempt to hold viewers hostage while they demand a $20 million rate increase" annually.
Any thoughts on whether or not this dispute will get as cutthroat at the recent Time Warner Cable-Fox Broadcasting fight? Certainly, Scripps' is calling its customers to action in a similar fashion, utilizing its ilovefoodnetwork.com and ilovehgtv.com sites, and Cablevision is urging customers to fill out automated e-mails demanding Scripps give up its payment request.