CNN International has said it will suspend the right of Israel’s Hot Cable Systems Media (HOT) to transmit the channel after the present agreement expires if the two parties cannot reach agreement in their current carriage fee negotiations. Without an agreement, 50% of multichannel homes in Israel could lose CNN as soon as November 1.
The broadcaster is quoted as saying it is yet to receive a serious offer from Israel’s largest cable operator.
It is the second time in a year that negotiations for a major international channel has gone down to the wire. Earlier this year BBC Prime came close to being withdrawn from HOT, but retained its place after subscriber protests. HOT CEO David Kamenitz was quoted as saying he was seeking a reduction in programming expenses of between 30 and 40%.
