SNL Kagan: Some Carriers Are Willing to Ditch Your Favorite Channels

SNL Kagan analysts are predicting that carriage agreements will split into two different types over the coming years.

The first type is exemplified by the quiet pact inked by Comcast and Scripps during the last week—a traditional agreement made notable by its inclusion of over-the-top content on Comcast's Xfinity service, a high watermark among MSO-created on-demand interfaces. The agreement was cordial and genially celebrated by both sides as fair and equitable, and similar to the easygoing deal between the cable operator and Disney earlier this year. The second type will be more like the hair-pulling brawls that played out over the last few weeks—Viacom v. DirecTV, Hearst v. Time Warner Cable, AMC v. Dish Network. "I think all of the operators are in the same boat," Kagan analyst Derek Baine said. "They are just taking different routes, with Dish apparently willing to give up some networks for good to keep programming costs low."