Will LIN TV Stations Go Dark On Time Warner Cable?

The broadcaster has begun to warn more than 1.5M viewers in 14 markets that its stations could disappear from Time Warner Cable and Bright House Network systems at the end of next week unless the companies reach a new retransmission consent agreement. Stations at risk include LIN TV‘s NBC, CW, and MyNetworkTV affiliates in Austin; CBS and CW stations in Buffalo, NY; NBC and CW outlets in Dayton, OH; and Fox and CW stations in Green Bay, WI. The two cable companies account for about 20.6% of LIN’s viewers, according to SNL Kagan data. LIN says on its Buffalo CBS affiliate’s website that “It costs a substantial amount of money to produce local programming, bid for top-quality programming, invest in high-definition, and make other upgrades to equipment and technology so we can deliver a superior product.” It adds in a statement that it wants “less than what Time Warner pays for many of its cable networks with far lower ratings.” But Time Warner Cable spokesman Jon Gary Herrera says that LIN is asking for a 50% rate hike, “a very steep increase from a contract negotiated two years ago.” Stations and pay TV companies typically settle retransmission consent disputes at the eleventh hour. But LIN’s stations were blacked out on Time Warner Cable for 25 days in fall 2008 when negotiations reached an impasse.