KXAN, Time Warner Cable Breakup Looking Inevitable

Come midnight tomorrow, Time Warner Cable customers will probably need to seek alternative means of tuning into their favorite NBC shows.

The communications giant and LIN-TV, which owns local NBC affiliate KXAN, have thus far failed to reach an amicable agreement in their ongoing dispute over the subscription fees that TWC pays to carry their signals. The current transmission contract is set to expire at midnight on Thursday, after which KXAN's feed will most likely be removed from Time Warner Cable's broadcast service.

Austinist recently interviewed Eric Lassberg, General Manager at KXAN, who stressed that the "dispute is about fair and equitable treatment."

"Time Warner charges its cable subscribers a fee to provide KXAN-TV in its channel line-up," he said. "It also charges its cable subscribers a fee to provide cable networks, which cable subscribers may or may not watch. Time Warner shares that fee with the cable networks; however, it does not share that fee with us. In essence, it takes our signal for free and resells it for a profit."

Time Warner Cable did not respond to our requests for comment, though a representative told Austin360 TV guru Diane Holloway that the company was "doing everything we can for this not to happen," and that there were "no winners in this situation." Clearly, both sides stand to lose considerably should the breakup happen — KXAN derives approximately half of its viewership from TWC, while the latter will no longer be able to provide certain special events programming such as the Super Bowl and Sunday Night Football.

Austinist reader José wrote in to point out that one way to sidestep this whole controversy is simply to grab the transmission off the air with an antenna. "Satellite and other cable operators are not the only options," he suggested. "I live in Round Rock and I can easily get both Austin and Waco area stations with crystal clear digital transmissions."

Other parts of Central Texas aren't as lucky. A search using TV Fool's coverage lookup tool showed that most transmission towers are roughly five miles away from the 78704 area. In theory this should provide for a good quality signal, but anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise. More fruitful paid alternatives include going with Grande Communications, DISH Network, or AT&T's fledgling U-Verse service.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Allen Y Chen in Arts & Entertainment on October 1, 2008 2:12 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

Aaron Haley

We're gonna need a cable bailout.

forbuschrisjohn

I just checked and so far KXAN is on the air with TWC so hopefully this means an end to this fight has come. If we are still going to lose KXAN then that is pretty sad on Kxans part. They have been doing nothing but lying about TWC charging a fee for me having access to their station. The only time TWC charges a fee for the local stations is when someone decides they do not want to use Rabbit ears anymore but don't want even basic cable so TWC allows ppl to get JUST the local channles via the digital service they offer for 4.99 a month.. might be higher now.

But the Dish sure the hell charges for local stations. If u go Dish and want your local stations U have to pay a pretty penny to them for it.

GET REAL KXAN!!!! Arn't enough companies trying to get fat off of everyone elses hard earned money without u trying to as well. I hope NBC considers leavibg KXAN if we lose KXAN. 90% of what I watch is on NBC and that says alot since I only watch about 5- 6 hours of TV A WEEK if that.

LoudMouth

I have a HDTV box and I get KXAN fine.

MrMichael

LinTV is full of lies, Time Warner does not charge its customers a fee for KXAN. You pay a fee for basic cable which covers the isntallation, the transmission of a package of channels, and not having to have rabbit ears on the top of your tv. The fee is not for locals which is included.

KXAN is not a cable network, it is a local network. The rules are different. KEYE and KVUE do not charge TWC to carry their feeds because they aren't greedy punks like LinTV are. LinTV doesn't care one bit about the quality of the feed or programming it provides to its areas (which is easy to see when you look at how crappy the KXAN feed is into TW).

For all you people that don't get it, go ahead and switch to sat, then don't come back here whining when they charge you for locals.

BeefyLifter

Why should TWC accept KXAN new "fair market value" as they claim, when you can get the signal from an antenna (read for free)? I also get ABC, CBS free channels using my TWC. Why is KXAN different all the sudden? If LIN TV/KXAN wants a penny per subscriber from TWC, then ABC and CBS have the right to renegotiate their contracts and get that penny as well.

I wonder what will be the reaction of NBC Corporate when a mayor metropolitan area like Austin doesn't receive their transmition through a major cable like TWC because their affiliate is getting greedy. KXAN income comes from advertising revenue, and they will lose a lot of it because of their new "fair market value" failed renegotiation.

I've read both sides of this story and I don't put the blame on TWC. And I won't be manipulated by KXAN into switching to Dish.

seth

seriously, time warner cable's customer service is absolute garbage compared to grande communication. internet outtage on thursday? don't expect to check your email until monday with twc.

seth

chesterwakefield

Time Warner freakin SUX - switch over to At&t - they have KXAN, are cheaper, have more channels, work better, and best of all have great customer service. Plus their interface isn't out of the 80's. The days of Time Warners cable monopoly are over.

tim

I'd be interested to hear if Time Warner is planning on letting customers out of their "Price Locks" for this. Considering that around 50% of the TV I watch is on NBC, I'd prefer to finally take the plunge and setup a computer to watch my shows and stop paying for cable. I've already been through 2 cable providers in the last year. I'm sick of paying for this crap.