Blaze TV - Gone

[mistery1]

With all the junk programming available, VZ now decides to remove an information TV program. I cannot help but to believe this decision is more about politics than viewers. VZ publicly talks diversity but their action speaks of clear resistance to diverse views.

Reverse your decision and reinstate The Blaze.

[sammy231]

I am so angry that you have chosen to drop the Blaze TV from your lineup. For the last year, I have had salespeople from Altice outside my door on a regular basis trying to sell us their product, tempting us with very generous triple play packages. I turned them away because though Verizon's prices are exorbinant, I gritted my teeth every month while paying my over $150 billl, and almost wept as I examined the through the roof fees you tack on. But hey, it was a choice, and thankfully I still have the freedom to choose, so I chose to stay  because Altice did not carry the Blaze network.

Now you have chosen to drop the Blaze, and have inferred in your oh so apologetic messages that it was due to contractual issues. But alas, my poor little progressive,  I do not believe that claim,not even for a moment.The timing is too obvious, just as the Blaze merged with CRTV. Huh? This is just Verizon lining up behind Twitter, Facebook, and all the other progressive media outlets that are trying to silence the conservative voices. Well thank God we still have a capitalist economic system, and your decision to drop the Blaze allows me the freedom to drop you!

Good riddance to bad news!

[Seeker1437]

For those looking into this issue you can see official info here:

www.verizon.com/blaze.

[Richey3]

Verizon took The Blaze out of its TV line up as of 12/28/18 so starting 12/29/18 i'm starting to look for a new cable company who does carry The Blaze and i intend to drop VERIZON and go too the new company,With all the crap tv in thier tv line up they had the drop The Blaze i think the just want to silence the voice of Glenn Beck !!!

[CRobGauth]

The blaze charges $10/month for a subscription to their channel if you want to stream.

Its highly possible that the terms of their renewal didn't meet Verizon costs.

Blaze appears to only be carried by cablevision and some smaller cable companies.

Remember that cable providers pay for every one that has access to a channel regardless of viewership.
If Blaze was in a tier with low viwership, the cost may have been too much.

People complain about high prices yet want their channels.

The content providers are the ones who won't let us choose the channels we wish.

[oi-sze]

See complete Verizon TV lineup,... place The Blaze where it belongs considering the viewership numbers and quality of programming. Definitely way above average. So, claim that Verizon can't carry all channels is correct but the choice to remove above average The Blaze instead of dozens if not hundreds meaningless ones they still carry is the wrong part. Also, quite obviously politically charged as why else would provider remove News/Info channel that has huge audience and quality-but for intolerance.

[CRobGauth]

Do you know what viewership numbers are for thsi channel?

And remember, it is not just the numbers. But cost per viewer.

If The Blaze has double the numbers of another channel but cost 5 times as much, which makes sense to drop from a business perspective?
And the fact that most cable providers do not carry this content should say something as well IMHO.

[Hammer_Bro]

Rob-

Yes, because i'm going to lend tremendous credence to politico and adweek both of which lean politically left.  By the way, the p. piece makes it sound so significant that they have surpassed Fox News - - big whoop.  Anyone with sense knows why that is (if it is actually true in the first place) it is the elephant in the room nobody desires to talk about: the foolish decision by Murdoch's sons to oust O'Reilly.  So, it's not that MSNBC is really performing stellar, they are still [expletive deleted] it's just that Greg Gutfeld is not enough star power to carry the day for Fox.  By the way, that is not to be taken as an insult by Greg. 

He's doing the best he can, but gosh darn it, he's only one [1] person. 

Anyway, thanks for playing, but, better luck next time.

Regards,

H.B.       

[CRobGauth]

Ratings aren't open to political interpretation.

The numbers are the numbers.

Doesn't matter if MSNBC is rising or Fox is falling.

MSNBC is not the failing news channel you purported.

It is on par with Fox.

And ratings are the driver per se for cable carriage.

Its all about the cost.

If you offer a channel for free to a cable provider vs one that they have to pay for, you will have a better chance of carriage.

Its highly possble that Blaze was asking too much per subscriber vs the actual viewers (remember cable providers pay for everyone who can watch vs the number that do watch).

There are two parts of the cost to carry content.

There is the cost to connect as well as the per subscriber cost.

Another post said they can get Blaze for an extra $5/month on another provider.

They have to hope to get enough to cover the connection costs and pay Blaze at that cost.

Given the low number of subscribers to FIOS, they probably felt it wasn't worth it. That is what happened to TWC. Not enough people watching to justify the cost.

[Hammer_Bro]

Rob explains,

"MSNBC is not the failing news channel you purported..."

You further explain,

"Given the low number of subscribers to FIOS..."

Well, perhaps if they didn't constantly aggravate their customers, they could have better stats in that regard. 

[Pamd1]

I just renewed my 2 year contract and was told everything would remain the same! To my dismay... I no longer have The Blaze! Needless to say.. I'm **bleep**!

[CRobGauth]

Blaze has been gone for well over a month.

[RayJay2]

And Mark Levin!

im With you, definitely thinking of dropping FIOS!

[Kolt1]

Please reinstate The Blaze.  You offer no explanation as to why this channel was dropped and it seems politically driven.  If not reinstated, I and others will drop Verizon!!!

[TaxDawg82]

It doesn't take a genius to see they removed it because it got no ratings whatsoever. Add in how no one else has it cable wise....thank goodness they removed it. And I am a Republican.

[The_Sandstress]

Did you ever watch it?  

[Timmer1]

The Blaze was one of the main reasons I signed up for FiOS, and now they have pulled it, alegedly for financial reasons.  I want The Blaze back, and since they dropped it, I will be looking for another TV provider (unless they bring it back.)

The next time I tune into Channel 112 or 612, I expect to see The Blaze.  

[TaxDawg82]

Verizon will miss you and the other 5 people who watched it

[Hammer_Bro]

Well, just caught wind of the following:

1.) We periodically renew our agreements with TV content providers to be able to provide you with the programming available on FiOS TV.

2.) At Verizon, we put our customers first in all our content decisions. We aim to provide content our customers want at a fair price.

3.) Given that the cost of programming is the single biggest factor in higher TV bills, we carefully review proposals from content providers to be sure that their rates are in line with their viewership. This practise allows us to bring you a competitive rate for FiOS TV packages.

4.) As a result, we have decided to drop TheBlaze (Ch. 112 SD / 612 HD) from our lineup effective December 28, 2018. For more information please visit www.verizon.com/blaze.

5.) We know you have a choice for home entertainment and appreciate you choosing Verizon.

I didn’t even receive an e-mail about this (like in the situation with Disney v. Verizon) which leads me to believe that they just snuck this change in there. Interestingly enough, i searched for Al Jazeera because that was my historical contention back when. I said if they were going to have Al, they needed Blaze as a necessary counter-balance. However, i am not seeing Al in the lineup (or at least when i searched tonight).

I’m taking issue with point number 2. To be honest, i don’t hold that Verizon prioritises its customers - - i feel like they are last to know (like the parents) (laughs) 😉 It was the same thing with TWC, Hallmark, FUNimation, Tennis, RFDTV although after the clamour they decided to restore Tennis Channel. Additionally, they do not provide a fair price by any means. We are paying close to $200 and always have the spectre of them removing our favourite channels.

As for point 3, i could be wrong, but, i have a hard time believing that they really take all this time to “carefully consider”. I have the feeling it is a group of high-powered corporate execs, they present the minutes, and cut to the quick i.e. “Blaze viewership has been down for the last three quarters - - and boom! Gone. But, what i would like to know, and i have stated this in the past with respect to FUNimation, are they accounting for DVR stats? Maybe not everyone can always watch the channel, but, they will DVR it.

With respect to point 5, i am glad that they acknowledge we have a choice, which, coincidentally, i have a feeling many people will be exercising very soon (laughs)

Concluding, this news, right on the proverbial heels (so to speak) of the Disney debacle does not portend good things for this company. If in fact it does implode, i guess there is always DirecTV - - problem is, i find myself in a stalemate. I do not desire to go with satellite and Altice (Cablevision re-branded) will probably still fall short of my expectations. Some will argue for YouTube TV, however, keep in mind, YouTube is owned by Google, a highly unethical company. Would just be nice if Verizon could keep its customers satisfied!

Regards, H.B.

P.S.- It will be interesting to see if Verizon holds the line by canceling the Disney family of networks as fast as they canceled Blaze

Guess i’m going to be on the phone with Verizon’s Central Complaints Dept. Monday, then again, due to the holiday, they might not even be there, i guess i will find out soon enough.  

[TaxDawg82]

Why would Verizon hold the line for the Blaze like they do with Disney? One has millions of daily listeners. The other has maybe 10 daily watchers

[Hammer_Bro]

Why would they hold the line you ask?  For uniformity, of course.  If they claim that they are attempting to reduce cost by ridding themselves of exorbitant networks, seems to me that Disney would fit that bill quite good. 

You further explain,

"the other has ten daily watchers."

Is it ten?  Are you quite sure that it is not eleven, maybe even twelve?  😉