Comcast is notifying customers that they could be losing a list of channels from their lineups over the next few months. While that news isn’t surprising, as we’ve seen both cable and streaming lose channels lately due to programmers increasing carriage fees, this list includes many Comcast owned channels.
“We expect that we will be able to reach an agreement with the owners of these channels to continue carrying them well into the future,” says a statement on the Comcast website. “Comcast has successfully renegotiated thousands of expiring contracts over the years and rarely experienced an interruption of service. However, it is possible that contracts for the channels listed below will not be renewed, in which case Comcast would no longer have the right to carry those channels on our systems.”
Channels listed under Comcast’s Upcoming Contract Renewals section include FX and National Geographic. Others are local affiliates like Cox-owned KAYU, a Fox affiliate in Spokane, and Hearst-owned WTAE, an ABC affiliate in Pittsburgh. Then there are the local NBC channels. WMAQ in Chicago, WRAL in Raleigh, and WTVJ in Miami are just a few of the NBC stations on the list of channels up for contract renewals, along with NBCUniversal-owned cable channels including Bravo, E!, and Syfy.
Will Comcast come to a carriage agreement with its own subsidiary, NBCUniversal? Probably yes. But it has been pointed out by Matthew Keys of The Desk that the terms of that agreement could have an impact on deals made with other platforms looking to carry the channels as well. New terms could lead to new disagreements between Comcast and AT&T, Dish, and Spectrum, as well as with streaming services that carry Comcast-owned channels.
You can view the full list of channels up for contract renewals on the Comcast website.