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2011 retransmission dispute roundup: which channels may go dark at midnight
It's a yearly thing, with contracts between TV stations and pay-TV providers due to expire just as the ball drops for the New Year it's increasingly hard to tell which channels will still be around when 2011 dawns. Check out our list below to see which ones are on the chopping block and which ones have already reached a new agreement this time around. If you spot any we've missed let us know in the comments or if there are any last minute reprieves, updates or extensions. Update: Moved Suddenlink/Viacom, Time Warner/Sinclair to resolved Expiring at midnight: Dish Network vs. E!, Style -- Dish Network and Comcast are negotiating over the networks, with a contract expiring at midnight. Dish and Comcast are also fighting over Comcast SportsNet California, which has been off the air since November 24 Resolved: Hearst vs. DirecTV - Covering 29 stations across the country including CBS, ABC and CW affiliates Insight vs. Raycom - Three stations in Louisville, Evansville and Cincinnati Suddenlink vs. Viacom - Not only will Suddenlink keep Viacom stations like MTV, VH1 and Spike, but it will also be adding EPIX "in the next few months," without raising its subscribers rates Time Warner Cable vs. Sinclair Broadcast Group -- Sinclair owns ABC, CBS, Fox, CW, MyNetworkTV and NBC affiliates in 35 markets which it will pull at midnight including San Antonio, Pittsburgh and Tampa. Time Warner claims it will still be able to provide programming from the "Big 4" networks in those areas without Sinclair, although viewers may miss their local news stations -- This isn't fully resolved, but negotiations have been extended until January 14th. Details here.
Time Warner Ohio subscribers missing the big game...again
Even as most of us get set in front of our HDTVs to watch the very Game of the Century we bought them to watch, Time Warner customers in central Ohio are left frustrated again. Just like during the Super Bowl, due to the ongoing dispute between the cable company and the owner of the local ABC and Fox affiliates, Sinclair Broadcasting. As we're all too familiar with and our good friends in New Orleans recently found out, some affiliates want cable companies to pay up to provide an HD signal to their customers, while the cable co's refuse to pay for what is already available freely over the air. In Ohio, Insight and Wide Open West have made deals with Sinclair to provide HD programming so customers can switch. According to the article, Time Warner has been giving away antennas to interested customers to keep people from switching. Sinclair even plans to start charging to rebroadcast its SD channels, we'll see who blinks first in this standoff or if the FCC somehow steps in.
