Standoff Between Bright House, Post-Newsweek May Cost Cable Viewers Some Network Shows

By Michele Greppi

A showdown over money between Bright House Networks, the sixth-biggest U.S. cable operator, and Post-Newsweek Stations could leave some cable viewers without programming from CBS-affiliated WKMG-TV in Orlando, Fla., and NBC-affiliated WDIV-TV in Detroit.
Post-Newsweek, which owns six stations, says Bright House is going to have to pay if it wants to carry the signals after midnight March 16, the expiration date of the third extension on a carriage contract between the companies.

“We need to arrive at a new agreement,” said WKMG VP and General Manager Henry Maldonado. “There’s not going to be another extension.”

If no deal is reached, more than 800,000 Bright House customers in the Orlando area, the 19th-largest TV market in the country, and more than 100,000 customers in Detroit, the No. 11 market, will find themselves unable to watch their favorite CBS and NBC shows, respectively, without making other arrangements.

Bright House spokeswoman Jennifer Mooney said the company doesn’t want to deny its customers the programming and that the matter is in Post-Newsweek’s hands.

“We are confident that WKMG will stay on the air,” Ms. Mooney said. “We do not have any plans for it to turn out otherwise. Our plans are to continue to deliver their signal unless they make a choice to do otherwise.”

The dispute is the latest back-and-forth between station groups and cable operators over retransmission consent, the federal rule that governs cable companies’ use of local broadcast signals.

Cable operators this month complained to the Federal Communications Commission that stations sometimes use take-it-or-leave-it tactics in retransmission negotiations to extract higher fees. The National Association of Broadcasters denied the claim, saying no station has ever been cited by the FCC for being too rough at the bargaining table.

Both Post-Newsweek and Bright House declined to discuss financial details of their negotiation. “We’re being fair,” is all Post-Newsweek Stations President-CEO Alan Frank would say about the compensation being sought for WKMG’s and WDIV’s programming.

The deadline for Post-Newsweek and Bright House falls four days before the start of CBS’ coverage of the March Madness NCAA college basketball tournament, the most-watched college sports event. WKMG is making hay of that timing in the public relations battle it is waging with Bright House.

“Save the Madness,” WKMG says on its Web site. “Don’t let Bright House pull the plug on CBS Local 6.”

The WKMG Web page also tells viewers what number to call to sign up for satellite TV provider Dish Network’s “special bonus offer,” service that includes three months of free programming and a free digital video recorder.

EchoStar Communication’s Dish is running ads in the Orlando Sentinel headlined, “Attention Bright House customers. You may lose your CBS programming.” Their advice: “Switch to Dish Network and receive a $50 prepaid MasterCard.”

WKMG is the most-watched channel among viewers 18 and older in prime time in the Orlando market, Mr. Maldonado said. He said the average of WKMG’s prime-time performance in the February, May and November sweeps periods measured by Nielsen Media Research was an average of 200,000 viewers 18 years old and older from 8 to 11 p.m. nightly.

Putting that into the context of WKMG’s fight with Bright House, he noted the most popular cable channel, TNT, is averaging 30,000 viewers 18 and older on those same nights.

Per-subscriber fees negotiated by cable networks range from about $2.50 for ESPN to as little as a dime for Animal Planet.

Mr. Maldonado said he’s not trying to talk like a “tough guy” in the Bright House spat.
As an executive of Post-Newsweek, however, Mr. Maldonado is part of an influential station group that is always in the thick of the debate on industry issues.

The company has proven it can take tough stands on principles in the past. It went to the wall when it ended the 53-year affiliation with CBS of WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, Fla., going independent (with lower ratings) rather than take an affiliation agreement it felt undervalued the station’s role in the relationship.

“Our viewers are writing us with supportive responses,” Mr. Maldonado said. “We’ve gotten about 400 e-mails. It’s not the most, it’s not the least we’ve ever gotten, but it’s very encouraging.”