"Mad Men" Fans with AT&T U-verse May Miss Out
Jul 9, 2010
by Denise Martin


"Mad Men" fans with AT&T U-verse may not get to see what happens to Don and Co. at the new Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce agency.

The cable provider's 2.3 million subscribers were alerted Friday on their set-top boxes that the company might drop Rainbow Media-owned AMC (as well as its siblings IFC and WE tv) on July 14 -- a move that would leave viewers in the lurch come when Season 4 of the AMC drama premieres July 25.





Rainbow Media has been negotiating to renew its carriage deal with AT&T for several months. The original contract was to expire on July 1, but both sides agreed to a two-week extension.

AT&T spokesman Steven Schwadron said Friday the two companies remained at "an impasse."






The alert to AT&T customers said: "We want fair prices and to reach a good deal for you, but may be forced to remove these channels due to their unreasonable demands."



A Rainbow Media spokeswoman told TVGuide.com:

"It is troubling that AT&T is threatening to yank AMC, WE tv and IFC, and leave their customers without the hottest show on television, AMC's "Mad Men", just before the premiere of the new season.

AT&T is acting in an aggressive manner that puts their corporate interests ahead of their customers. We are negotiating in good faith ... so that our viewers don't lose out."




"We are willing to continue negotiating," Schwadron said.

AT&T subscribers, meanwhile, are already fuming.

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Mad-Men-Uverse-1020330.aspx

Well, it's not like those stations are worth watching anymore, anyway. Remember back when AMC showed REAL classic movies, uncut with no commercials? *SIGH*...those were the days!!!!

Well, it's not like those stations are worth watching anymore, anyway. Remember back when AMC showed REAL classic movies, uncut with no commercials? *SIGH*...those were the days!!!!

"Mad Men", "Breaking Bad", "The Walking Dead" that's coming up... what do you mean not worth watching anymore?

"Mad Men", "Breaking Bad", "The Walking Dead" that's coming up... what do you mean not worth watching anymore?
Well, I just never got into those - maybe if they were on another station...but AMC stands for American Classic Movies. They sure aren't living up to that title anymore!!! I guess it's a your mileage may vary kind of thing.

"Mad Men", "Breaking Bad", "The Walking Dead" that's coming up... what do you mean not worth watching anymore?
I think what she means is that AMC has strayed from it's original programming model. AMC does after all stand for American MOVIE Classics. And for people who are fans of classic movies AMC is no longer giving them what they want.

Well, I just never got into those - maybe if they were on another station...but AMC stands for American Classic Movies. They sure aren't living up to that title anymore!!! I guess it's a your mileage may vary kind of thing.


I think what she means is that AMC has strayed from it's original programming model. AMC does after all stand for American MOVIE Classics. And for people who are fans of classic movies AMC is no longer giving them what they want.


It hasn't been that way for the past 10 years or so. Won't be the first or the last channel to stray away from its intended purpose... unfortunately.

Business reasons and advertisers wanting something new to offer the viewers were the reason why the old format changed.

BTW, I believe American Movie Classics is no longer the channel's official title, since the change in format.

Still, I miss the good old days when you could see classic, uncut movies - no commercials. You got to see Laurel & Hardy, The Three Stooges, plus movie series like Blondie and Ma & Pa Kettle. I still remember curling up next to my grandma on her couch on a rainy Friday night watching Doris Day's Midnight Lace on AMC...I can't even describe it. I also remember watching flicks like Kitty Foyle, Walter Mitty, Orchestra Wives, Sun Valley Serenade, Love Story, and Paper Moon...I could go on and on. THAT was the AMC I knew and loved - and sadly is no more. :( :mad:

Still, I miss the good old days when you could see classic, uncut movies - no commercials. You got to see Laurel & Hardy, The Three Stooges, plus movie series like Blondie and Ma & Pa Kettle. I still remember curling up next to my grandma on her couch on a rainy Friday night watching Doris Day's Midnight Lace on AMC...I can't even describe it. I also remember watching flicks like Kitty Foyle, Walter Mitty, Orchestra Wives, Sun Valley Serenade, Love Story, and Paper Moon...I could go on and on. THAT was the AMC I knew and loved - and sadly is no more. :( :mad:

Well, I guess as you say "your mileage may vary" because I can't stand to watch things like that. ;)

Well, I guess as you say "your mileage may vary" because I can't stand to watch things like that. ;)
Personally I'd like watch pretty well everything on Monika's list. In fact there should be a TV channel...oh never mind.

AMC just sucks anymore. It used to be my favorite channel. That's how I got interested in classic movies. I remember staying up all night years ago just watching their film preservation festival. oh well.... I do like Breaking Bad and I'm going to watch the Walking Dead series but as for the movies...they all suck. lol

Well, I guess as you say "your mileage may vary" because I can't stand to watch things like that. ;)
Well, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree! ;)

Personally I'd like watch pretty well everything on Monika's list. In fact there should be a TV channel...oh never mind.

During the time of the change, AMC did have plans to launch a new channel called "AMC Hollywood Classics" that would have essentially aired everything the old AMC did.

The channel never happened.


I believe currently that TCM (Turner Classic Movies) is one that airs the classic stuff.

During the time of the change, AMC did have plans to launch a new channel called "AMC Hollywood Classics" that would have essentially aired everything the old AMC did.

The channel never happened.


I believe currently that TCM (Turner Classic Movies) is one that airs the classic stuff.
Yes. TCM has become my favorite channel for that very reason. Great Classic Movies and great Classic Movie Stars.

I used to like to watch Bob Dorian before each movie. I wonder what ever happened to him? lol

I just found an interview with him. He likes TCM too. lol

http://www.apparenting.com/interview_former_amc_tv_host_bob_dorian.html

I used to like to watch Bob Dorian before each movie. I wonder what ever happened to him? lol

I just found an interview with him. He likes TCM too. lol

http://www.apparenting.com/interview_former_amc_tv_host_bob_dorian.html
Great interview! Thanks for posting it Sonny!

Great interview! Thanks for posting it Sonny!
You're welcome. :) I still have a bunch of movies I taped off of AMC years ago and they have Bob on them too. If it wasn't for that channel I probably wouldn't have become as big a movie fan as I am now.

Last I checked, if you look closely, AMC still shows older movies, just in lower-profile time slots and not as often.

FOX Movie Channel airs classic movies as well.

Last I checked, if you look closely, AMC still shows older movies, just in lower-profile time slots and not as often.

FOX Movie Channel airs classic movies as well.
The main problem I have with AMC's showing older movies is the commercials. It's just about impossible to enjoy a movie over there anymore. Alot of their newer movies are anything but classics too and the ones that are good are all censored and cut. FMC is a good channel too. I just hope they and TCM don't sell out the way AMC did.

Like I said I like Breaking Bad. It's a great show. I only DVR it. I don't actually watch anything else on that station. Hopefully AT&T will come to their senses. I was faced with the same problem a couple of years ago when I had Comcast and they were threatening to take away the NFL Network. The customers are the big losers in all of this.

One thing that I do like about AMC is that they show the Three Stooges again, although it seems relegated to mornings.

One thing that I do like about AMC is that they show the Three Stooges again, although it seems relegated to mornings.
Awesome!! :stooges:

...New York's Time-Warner Cable outfit has threatened to cut off the YES cable network (depriving Yankees fans of their games on that channel), and keep WABC-TV [Channel 7, the ABC flagship station] and WNYW-TV [Channel 5, Fox's flagship station] from their subscribers, due to a matter of renegotiating "retransmission fees". Each time, there was a last-minute agreement that kept that from happening [although WABC was missing from Time-Warner's lineup for a brief period, until just after ABC's coverage of the Academy Awards ceremonies began].

A.T & T.'s disagreement with their cable channels is no different: it all comes down to a matter of money {"You'll pay us what we think is a reasonable fee"/"No, we won't!!"/"Then we'll cut you off from our subscribers!"/"You wouldn't dare!!!"/"Wouldn't we???"}.


:mad:

Gosh, I haven't watched anything on AMC in over ten years. I think I still have a few old videotapes of recordings I made off of it as far back as 1986-87, when they only showed two films per evening (usually from the 20th-Century Fox library, along with a batch of older British items). Really used to love that channel. I don't know how anybody can watch it nowadays, with all its commercial breaks. Last time I noticed, while visiting my sister who had it tuned in to some movie, it seemed to have four-minute commercial interruptions every six or seven minutes. A policy like that can practically render a short, breezy b-film of 75-minutes into a turgid, three-hour ordeal! Great way to turn a beloved film into a long, drawn-out and miserable viewing experience. Yet, the channel's ratings are up in recent years! Crazy.

Even when AMC changed their format back in the fall of '02, it still was somewhat watchable. They said that they had less commercials than most networks and that seemed to be somewhat accurate. After some time though, it seemed like that changed and the commercial interruptions were more frequent. Plus they began to add popups, on screen text for original series and other stupid things that made me watch less and less. I actually checked out the schedule for tomorrow and didn't see one pre-1980s film. In fact, they even had films that were made over the last decade. What a shame.

I don't think AMC is a horrible channel at all. Yes AMC did stray for programming but most cable networks do at some point because of business reasons and to keep with competition. I don't mind watching movies with commercials. AMC's original programming is far better than some of the other shows on basic cable. I do like Breaking Bad a little more than Mad Men. I have big hopes for The Walking Dead and the other upcoming series The Killing which is based on a Danish show called Forbrydelsen.

I like We tv because they show reruns of 48 Hours, 20/20 and some of the documentary series Secret Lives of Women are pretty good.

IFC is a great channel because it shows a lot of great indie movies like Boondock Saints and Little Children.

Disputes between cable and satelllite operators with cable networks is pretty common and conflicts like happen often. I don't know anyone who has AT&T though.

"Mad Men" for Everyone: AT&T and Rainbow Media Reach Agreement
Jul 15, 2010
by Denise Martin


AT&T U-verse's 2.3 million subscribers won't be missing the fourth season premiere of "Mad Men".

AMC parent company Rainbow Media and AT&T have come to terms over a carriage dispute that threatened to deprive a number of viewers of the cable network — and the return of its signature drama — as well as other Rainbow-owned channels.





AT&T said in a statement that it was "happy" to report that AMC, IFC and WE won't be interrupted, adding: "We're very satisfied that we were able to reach the fair deal we wanted for our customers ..."

AMC said it was "pleased" to reached an agreement "that truly recognizes the value of our networks."

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Mad-Men-ATT-1020628.aspx

...New York's Time-Warner Cable outfit has threatened to cut off the YES cable network (depriving Yankees fans of their games on that channel), and keep WABC-TV [Channel 7, the ABC flagship station] and WNYW-TV [Channel 5, Fox's flagship station] from their subscribers, due to a matter of renegotiating "retransmission fees". Each time, there was a last-minute agreement that kept that from happening [although WABC was missing from Time-Warner's lineup for a brief period, until just after ABC's coverage of the Academy Awards ceremonies began].

A.T & T.'s disagreement with their cable channels is no different: it all comes down to a matter of money {"You'll pay us what we think is a reasonable fee"/"No, we won't!!"/"Then we'll cut you off from our subscribers!"/"You wouldn't dare!!!"/"Wouldn't we???"}.


:mad:
i can't beleive that in this day and age, with all the technology and infrastructure invested in video-on-demand and everything else that cable companies still "have to" stick us with the "channel tier" system and make us pay for channels we don't want instead of letting us pay ala carte for the channels we do want.

Time Warner made us go through this with the local NBC channel, and after the last-minute negotiations worked, they increased my monthly bill by $15 per month - a heck of a lot more than WDTN's claim of "a few pennies per day", I sure as heck don't think NBC is worth $15 per month, but if anyone else DOES feel that channels is worth it they should be able to get JUST that channel.

I am also ticked off that I can't get the Game Show Network unless I buy the Sports Tier package for $25 per month :mad: