KPHO, a CBS affiliate in Phoenix, Wednesday said that negotiations with Cable One have stalled and “are unlikely to result in a renewal” of a new retransmission consent deal before the current pact expires Dec. 31.
“As a result, KPHO believes that Cable One will discontinue carriage of KPHO CBS 5 on its systems in Prescott, Clifton, Cottonwood, Cornville, Globe/Miami, Morenci, Page, Safford, Show Low, Snowflake and Winslow, Arizona, when the current agreement ends December 31, 2008,” the station said in a statement.
KPHO CBS 5 has reached agreements with most of the state’s cable operators including Cox Communications and satellite providers DirectTV and Dish Network. Cable One provides cable service to subscribers in Arizona and 18 other states.
Cable One officials were not immediately available for comment.
If a new deal isn’t consummated before year’s end, subscribers will be unable to watch popular CBS series such as CSI Miami, Survivor and Without a Trace, as well as NFL games, including an AFC Wildcard Game, the AFC Divisional Playoffs and the AFC Championship. It will also cost viewers a chance to watch college football’s Gator Bowl, NCAA basketball, including the March Madness championship tournament, and the Masters golf tournament in the spring.
“We have reached agreements with all the major cable and satellite companies.” said KPHO vice president and general manager Ed Munson, in a prepared statement. “We hope to reach a similar agreement with Cable One. However, we do not understand why Cable One does not see the value in KPHO’s local news and network programming, while they continue to pay money to barely watched, narrowly focused cable channels.”
