Archive for January, 2008
DTV Transition Easy for Cable Customers
Central TX NBC Update
“KCEN is an excellent TV station that we carry in other cable systems,” said Todd Cruthird, the vice president of operations for Suddenlink’s Texoma Region. “We are delighted to now make this station and the NBC programming it offers available to our customers in Georgetown and nearby areas.”
Cruthird added that Suddenlink’s agreement with KCEN gives the cable company permission to re-transmit KCEN’s standard and high-definition signals.
(Update, 4:45 pm CT, 1/3/08: The KCEN NBC signals are now confirmed on the Georgetown/Pflugerville/Leander system. The standard feed is on channel 4 and the HD feed is on channel 730.)
On Dec. 31, LIN-TV, the owner of KXAN (Austin’s NBC affiliate), forced Suddenlink to remove that station from its line up under penalty of law.
“Our past success in reaching agreements with other TV station owners gave us every confidence we would be able to reach an agreement with LIN-TV,” Cruthird said. “Unfortunately, LIN-TV declined repeated offers we made to them, refused to provide an extension so we could keep negotiating, and then forced us to remove KXAN. Immediately, we attempted to re-start negotiations with LIN.”
Among the cable company’s attempts to put an offer in front of LIN-TV that it would accept, the company yesterday (Jan. 2) submitted two new options. Under the first option, Suddenlink significantly increased its offer for KXAN only, in areas with no duplicate NBC station. Under the second option, Suddenlink offered KXAN its own, stand-alone channel for which LIN-TV could set the price and from which it would keep all money generated, including all customer fees and ad revenues. This morning, LIN-TV rejected both offers.
“By rejecting all of our proposals to date, including the two made yesterday, LIN-TV left us with no choice but to bring in another NBC affiliate,” said Cruthird.
Cruthird said alternative network affiliates are not always available, due to the nature of regulations governing the cable and broadcast TV industries. When an alternative station is available, the cable operator must then negotiate an agreement with the owner of the alternative station. The general manager of KCEN agreed to terms with Suddenlink this afternoon.
KXAN Update – Jan. 2
This morning, Suddenlink’s negotiator reached out once again to her counterpart at LIN-TV, the Rhode-Island-based parent company of KXAN, requesting a discussion of next steps and how best to conclude negotiations so that KXAN can be returned immediately to Suddenlink customers who do not currently have an alternative for NBC programming. As of this afternoon, LIN-TV’s negotiator had not responded.
On a parallel track, other Suddenlink executives are exploring the possibility of adding a different NBC affiliate from a different market to the company’s cable line-ups in Georgetown, Leander, Pflugerville, and elsewhere.
When it Rains it Pours
Suddenlink continues its efforts to reach a deal with LIN-TV for the rights to add KXAN (Austin NBC) back to our line up. In the meantime, there has been a fiber cut identified between Georgetown and Pflugerville, Texas, affecting TV, Internet, and phone services in that area.
UPDATE 11:30 am, 1/2/08: The cut has been located in a span of underground fiber, and Suddenlink now has clearance to run a temporary aerial span to restore connectivity as soon as possible. We are hoping to complete that work in one to two hours, maximum.
UPDATE 1:05 pm, 1/2/08: Service has been restored to Georgetown and Leander. Suddenlink crews continue splicing fibers in order to restore full connectivity to all markets.
UPDATE 2:00 pm, 1/2/08: All active fibers have now been spliced and service should now be restored to all affected areas.
