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Time Warner Cable is telling local subscribers it will continue to carry Fox network programs into January and beyond, even if its deal with the owner of WUTV, the local Fox affiliate, expires and the station is dropped from the local cable system.
WUTV, owned by Baltimore-based Sinclair Broadcast Group, could disappear from the Time Warner lineup Jan. 1 if no deal is reach to extend the agreement that allows the cable company to carry the channel.
But local Time Warner officials said Wednesday that they have an arrangement that will allow the cable system to continue carrying Fox's national programming, such as "American Idol," "Glee" and "House," even if WUTV is dropped from its programming lineup. It also would allow Time Warner subscribers to watch the Super Bowl, which Fox will air in early February.
Language in the deal that Time Warner struck last January with Fox Broadcasting allows the cable company to carry Fox network programming for up to a year in markets where the local Fox affiliate is pulled from the lineup.
Time Warner's agreement with Sinclair to carry its stations, including WUTV, will expire at the end of the month. Sinclair operates 20 Fox affiliates and 38 other stations, including WNYO in Buffalo, that are affiliated with other networks.
Time Warner and Sinclair have been warning that WUTV could be pulled from the Time Warner lineup because of a dispute over the fees that the cable operator is obligated to pay for carrying Sinclair stations.
Disputes between cable companies, such as Time Warner, and companies that own broadcast stations and cable networks have become common in recent years, as cable companies resist the content providers' demands for higher fees, which they contend lead to higher bills for consumers. Dish Network subscribers, for instance, have been unable to watch Buffalo Sabres games on the MSG network because of a dispute over fees.
"We still think blackouts are unfair, and that's why we're working hard to keep this station on," said Matthew Tremblay, a Time Warner spokesman. Time Warner would carry the Fox programming in WUTV's usual channel in the cable company's lineup, he said.
Sinclair officials could not be reached to comment, but Barry Faber, Sinclair's general counsel, told the Los Angeles Times that he believes using the option of getting Fox programming directly from the network would be expensive for Time Warner.
The Fox agreement does not cover non-Fox programming carried by WUTV. That means syndicated shows like "Judge Judy" and reruns of programs like "Seinfeld," "The Simpsons" and "Two and a Half Men" would not be available to Time Warner subscribers.
Customers also could access those shows by attaching an antenna to their sets and watching WUTV over the air, much as some cable subscribers did two years ago when a similar dispute temporarily knocked WIVB off Time Warner.
Sinclair, in the crawls it periodically has been running in recent weeks, has warned viewers to make plans to switch to another provider if they want to keep receiving WUTV.
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