Oct 17, 2017

Verizon Fios pulls signal from Univision

Elise Amendola / AP

Univision announced last night that Verizon pulled its signal from its FiOS and mobile platforms "entirely without warning," leaving mostly East Coast consumers without access to programming. Univision says it's "deeply concerned," especially "in light of recent natural disasters and current events impacting the Hispanic community." Verizon says Univision is charging too much for its waning viewership.

Why it matters: It's the latest example of what happens when a Pay-TV provider and a cable network can't agree on a new contract. With new competitors in tech, the big Pay-TV distributors are incentivized to drop cable networks that are underperforming or too expensive, possibly to create their own skinny bundles. (We saw these dynamics play out two weeks ago when Altice threatened to drop Disney and Sunday when Charter struck a last-minute deal with Viacom.)

Go deeper: TV networks have been charging cable and satellite providers fees to carry their content for years, spurring more and more carriage fights. But pay TV providers are continuing to boycott the fees being demanded of them, causing TV blackouts all over the country. With more consumers cutting the cord, the atmosphere has gotten tense. By 2022, SNL Kagan predicts that retransmission fees being charged by TV networks will increase by roughly 50%, reaching $11.6 billion.

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Kim Hart, Sara Fischer

Coronavirus breaks the telecom bundle

Reproduced from Park Associates "Broadband Services in the U.S." report; Note: 2019 survey was conducted in Q3, with 10,059 respondents and a ±1% margin of error; Chart: Axios Visuals

Consumers are adopting stand-alone broadband services at a much higher rate than just two years ago, and analysts predict that the economic downturn prompted by the COVID-19 outbreak will accelerate the trend.

Why it matters: With a recession looming, consumers may look to cut pay TV service in favor of more robust standalone internet packages once they're free to leave their homes.

Go deeper8 mins ago - Economy & Business

Erica Pandey

America's funeral homes buckle under the coronavirus

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Morgues, funeral homes and cemeteries in hot spots across America cannot keep up with the staggering death toll of the coronavirus pandemic.

Why it matters: The U.S. has seen more than 10,000 deaths from the virus, and at least tens of thousands more lives are projected to be lost. The numbers are creating unprecedented bottlenecks in the funeral industry — and social distancing is changing the way the families say goodbye to their loved ones.

Go deeper1 hour ago - Health

Jonathan Swan, Margaret Talev

Navarro memos warning of mass coronavirus death circulated in January

Image from a memo to President Trump

In late January, President Trump's economic adviser Peter Navarro warned his White House colleagues the novel coronavirus could take more than half a million American lives and cost close to $6 trillion, according to memos obtained by Axios.

The state of play: By late February, Navarro was even more alarmed, and he warned his colleagues, in another memo, that up to two million Americans could die of the virus.

Go deeperUpdated 2 hours ago - Health