Time Warner and KXAN

[DXER24]

Do you remember the little incedent back in 2000 I think when Time Warner was having issues with KIII ABC 3 in Corpus Christi and what they (Time Warner) did ? They pulled in the KAVC ABC 25 out of Victoria and put that In KIII's place. I think TW ended up getting fined for it to

 

[Slambang]

KIII made the big stink about that to the FCC in that whole deal. I think was about a channel reassignment on the cable side or something real stupid that started that whole mess.

 

[DXER24]

Can we say McKinnon ! When my family was talking to me about that They have since stoped watching that station because of that mess they got themselves into

 

[justplaythehits]

My guess is KXAN will come to the table when the ratings drop and sales can't convince advertisers to pay the rate.

It's unlikely that tons of TW customers will leave for Dish just because one local station is missing from the line-up.

Money talks.

 

[mmnassour]

Lets face it: LIN is in the hole when it comes to ad revenue for its local stations, not to mention upgrading their equipment to HD, which is the case for many TV stations around this great country at present. But, that doesnt mean you get to hold another company hostage and demand they pay you a rebroadcast fee for what is essentially a free TV signal.

Ummm.....actually, it DOES mean exactly that. As I understand the law, KXAN has the right to ask for a cent or a million, it doesn't matter. And as much as I really dislike LIN, their signal is NOT free to anyone besides the OTA audience for their own private use. No one can put up an antenna, hook it to a TV, and then charge people to watch 36 without its approval.

Im glad TWC is stepping up to the plate and holding firm, id rather see WOAI in that slot on the cable box, as that will show KXAN they can easily be replaced.

As am I. It's my understanding that the Time Warner agreements here in Austin called for NO cash to be exchanged for the right to carry any signal, UNTIL the LIN contract ran out and that company decided that it had to have cash to make up for slumping ad revenues. That's fine with me...let's see how their revenues are with half the audience gone.

However, you will NOT see WOAI, KCEN, or any other NBC programming on TWC anytime soon. The KCEN import by Suddenlink cable last year was because Suddenlink was able to show that KCEN was a substantially viewed station in parts of their area, Williamson County, IIRC. That's NOT the case with anyone in Austin, located in Travis County. So TWC is out of NBC until these two children decide to come together and get this mess settled.

 

[DXER24]

What is the latest on this topic is KXAN still off from TW? Remember, depending on where you live if you have an off air antenna you can usually pull in either WOAI San Antonio or KCEN Waco for NBC programing hey its TW loss for this whole mess as well as KXAN's

 

[mmnassour]

The latest we have is this story about the Buffalo market:

http://www.tonawanda-news.com/local/local_story_290234843.html


The bottom line: Negotiations continue,LIN wants 30 cents per house per month, TWC says no.

 

[Slambang]

I dont think LIN has the resources to keep up a fight like this..TW will eventually be victorious..

 

[fredcantu]

NBC can't be happy about this either. Maybe KCEN in Temple will move its tower further south to become Austin's NBC affiliate. Austin already has Univision 62 licensed to Killeen.

 

[mmnassour]

Somehow, I don' t think the folks watching OTA in Waco would much care for that! ;D

Anyway, I imagine TWC has deeper prockets than does LIN, but being a former LIN employee I know of no other company that can squeeeeeeze a penny so tightly. These people are determined to get that cash payment from TWC.

Personally....I'll bet that the longer this drags on, the better for TWC.