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Sinclair and Time Warner Cable Agree to Two More Weeks of Talks; No Blackout Tonight

Phillip Dampier December 31, 2010 Consumer News No Comments

When the ball overlooking Times Square drops at midnight tonight, Time Warner Cable subscribers won’t have to say goodbye to local stations owned by Sinclair Broadcasting.  The two companies reached an agreement Friday to extend negotiations over programming fees paid by the cable operator until Jan. 14.

While the talks progress, Sinclair-owned stations will continue to be seen on Time Warner with no interruption.

The two companies have been locked in a dispute over programming fees that Sinclair characterizes as a dime’s worth of difference.

Sinclair owns stations in these communities.

Barry Faber, general counsel for Sinclair, said the two are arguing over Sinclair’s request to charge ten cents per month more per subscriber for their stations.

“We intend to continue our good-faith negotiations during this period with the intent of finalizing a longer-term agreement at pricing that reflects the higher cost of programming we are faced with today,” said Barry Faber, executive vice president and general counsel of Sinclair, in a statement released Friday.

The notion Sinclair faces “higher programming costs” is one some industry experts seriously question, considering Sinclair does not have a reputation for being a big spender.

Instead, many believe Sinclair is attempting to earn additional revenue they lost in the advertising downturn, attributable to the Great Recession.

The two companies hope to hammer out a final agreement after the New Year holiday, potentially ending the latest retransmission consent dispute threatening to throw channels and networks off the cable dial.

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