Local TV stations in cable staredown

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Efforts to reach a new deal between Time Warner Cable and the company that owns three local television stations are coming down to the wire. If a decision is not reached before the current contract expires at 5 p.m. May 31, the three LIN Media stations — WKBN (CBS), WYTV (ABC) and WYFX (Fox) — will not be carried by Time Warner, according to a message from the stations.

On Wednesday, the stations began alerting Time Warner subscribers to the deadline, urging them to go to wkbn.com for information on how to contact the cable company.

A message on the WKBN website reads, in part: “We are working hard to reach a new agreement with Time Warner; however, we feel it is our duty to keep our viewers informed when a contract deadline approaches and a new agreement has not yet been reached. If we do not reach an agreement, by law, Time Warner cannot carry our signal on its cable systems.”

The message also states that Time Warner “has yet to recognize the fair value of our programming.”

In response, Time Warner spokesman Mike Hogan released the following statement: “We recognize our customers value this programming and we want to reach a fair agreement with LIN, but it is outrageous to demand a more than 50 percent increase especially when they got a colossal increase just two years ago. These increases directly impact cable rates and are inexcusable when you consider they deliver the same programming over the air for free.”

Hogan directs subscribers to twcconversations.com.