Jennifer Lopez’s Fuse Channel Being Dropped Like Hot Potatoes

On Monday, Fuse Media announced that the company’s television network would be carried by Verizon’s Fios as of December 31, 2018.

Verizon Dropped Fuse one day after Comcast announced that they too were going to drop the station that is owned by Jennifer Lopez and is geared to the Latino community.

Verizon dropped the channel because they could not come to a carriage agreement. Fuse stated that the terms Verizon gave were not acceptable.

A Verizon representative has not given an official statement commenting on the situation.

A Fuse spokesperson said in a statement that this is another prime example of one of the United States largest telecommunications companies going against the public’s feeling regarding cultural diversity. They claim they want to support their customers and those who are underserved and their communities, but Verizon Fios is getting rid of content that is uniquely programmed to the values and passions of the large and expanding millennial multicultural audience.

Jennifer Lopez did not have a comment about how she feels about Verizon’s decision to drop the station and how it will affect the Latino community.

On Sunday Fuse President and CEO Michael Schwimmer blasted Comcast for removing the channel even though they claim the organization has stated in public that they have made a promise to support diverse and networks that are operated independently.

With Comcast pulling the station this puts Lopez’s Fuse at a disadvantage and it may lose a third of the households it used to reach. Fuse stated that Verizon’s Fios’ decision to pull the station off their networks will be a very low amount in the single-digit range of a loss of distribution to households.

Lopez’s Fuse has stated that through the 2018 end of the third quarter, rating at the networks increased more than 50 percent in the 18-44 age bracket while cable that is supported by ads decreased by 34 percent in the same time frame.

During the third quarter, it was reported by Fuse that 74 percent of its programming was seen by a multicultural audience. the network was ranked number 5 in the category of ad-supported, English-language cable networks that provide entertainment.

Comcast dropped the station stating that the evaluate their channel lineups on a regular basis and make changes sometimes to make sure they are offering the Comcast customers a large variety of different kinds of content that they will enjoy are at a good value and want to be viewed.

Comcast stated that a great deal of the contact that Fuse offers is similar to the programming on different networks. They understand that a group of customers may be interested in the programming Fuse offers, and they will find other programs that have similar content.

Fuse is known for shows such as The Hollywood Puppet show that has Wilmer Valderrama as it’s executive producer.

In 2014 Lopez’s channel NuvoTV bought Fuse for $226 Million. Under the Fuse name, she merged the companies.

Michael Schwimmer, CEO, and President of Fuse Media stated that despite Comcast’s statement that Comcast decided to drop the Fuse network on December 31, 2018, despite being carried on the network for longer than a decade. He was surprised at the decision because Fuse agreed with the demands Comcast made and they did not hear that other requirements were necessary.

Since February, Fuse reached approximately 60 million households that owned cable. Comcast 22 million people subscribed to their service.

Jennifer Lopez has not made a public statement regarding her station being dropped.

Written by Barbara Sobel

Sources:

The Wrap: Verizon Follows Comcast in Dropping Jennifer Lopez’s Fuse Media Network
UPI: Comcast drops Jennifer Lopez’s Fuse channel
Deadline: Verizon Fios Drops Jennifer Lopez-Owned Fuse Media

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