[October 04, 2008]

Channel 4 GM says cable giant is blocked from showing Bills game

(Buffalo News, The (NY) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 3--The general manager of Channels 4 and 23 has denied that the stations' owner filed a petition today with the FCC to prevent Time Warner Cable from carrying the Buffalo Bills game Sunday from the CBS affiliate in Rochester.

However, General Manager Chris Musial added that Time Warner is restricted from bringing in the game or any other CBS program from another market under a long-standing agreement.

Musial was responding to an earlier statement from Time Warner spokesman Robin Wolfgang that LIN Television, the owner of channels 4 and 23, filed a petition with the FCC that prevents the cable company rom providing the Bills game in Arizona through the Rochester affiliate, WROC-TV.

Wolfgang noted that that action ended Time Warner's exploration of whether it could provide area cable customers the game through WROC.

"No petition was filed with the FCC today by LIN Television," Musial said. "However, under long-standing agreements of more than 10 years -- called non-duplication network agreements -- stations from one market with the same network affiliation cannot be shown in another market.

We have sent non-duplication notices to Time Warner in the past to enforce our exclusivity rights and those rights are still in effect."

Upon learning of Musial's position, Wolfgang said Time Warner learned today that LIN had asserted its non-duplication rights.

Meanwhile, a National Football League spokesman also denied an earlier Time Warner statement that the NFL would have had to give approval for the cable company to bring the game in from Rochester.

"The NFL would not have to grant permission," the spokesman said.

Time Warner had been exploring bringing in the game and other CBS programming from WROC to certain parts of its Western New York system within the legal mileage limit.

Channels 4 and 23 were dropped from Time Warner's system shortly after the midnight deadline Thursday when LIN couldn't reach a national agreement with the cable giant to keep the stations on the air.

Wolfgang said LIN "refused to let Time Warner transmit the stations" after its current deal expired.

"We will continue to negotiate," said Wolfgang. "At this point LIN wouldn't grant us a 24-hour extension."

Time Warner immediately replaced CBS programming normally carried on Channel 4 with programming from the CBS College Sports Network and put HBO Family on Channel 23, the local CW affiliate.

The issue is over money. LIN, which owns the local CBS and CW affiliates, wants to be compensated by Time Warner for allowing it to carry the stations.

Weeks ago, a LIN release stated that the television group -- which operates 15 stations in Time Warner markets -- has reached agreements with every other cable, satellite or telecommunications company to carry its stations.

Time Warner believes it shouldn't pay for channels that are available over the air for free. Weeks ago, Time Warner noted that the cable system as "successfully reached fair agreements with hundreds of broadcasters and cable networks across the country in recent years and are confident we will with LIN TV, too."

The issue is being handled by the corporate offices of both companies, not in Western New York, and affects all LIN stations and Time Warner systems.

apergament@buffnews.com

To see more of The Buffalo News, N.Y., or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.buffalonews.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, The Buffalo News, N.Y.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]

Discussions: