No news was not good news for Hallmark Channels or its viewers.
According to a Hallmark spokesperson, there are still no talks with AT&T in its second day of being dark on the telco's U-Verse system.
A Hallmark
spokesperson said that in the hundreds of negotiations it has conducted
in its nine years on the air, including ones that went beyond the
deadline, this is the first time it has gone dark
on any system.
AT&T
replaced Hallmark Channels with other programming just after midnight
Aug. 31 after the two sides could not come to an agreement on a new
deal.
AT&T has
said it offered to continue carrying the channel on the old terms
without a contract while they continued to negotiate, but that Hallmark
declined. A Hallmark spokesperson said an extension
was not granted because it received a termination letter from AT&T.
Talks broke off last week but resumed this week and went right up to the deadline, breaking off soon after.
AT&T has
charged that Hallmark has "refused to adhere to key obligations" under
its current deal, while Hallmark President Bill Abbott countered that he
was "stunned" by what he called the "apparent
disregard for the facts in AT&T's statement regarding our
negotiations."
