Finishing off 2010 on a cooperative note, Time Warner Cable said it has reached a retransmission-consent extension with Sinclair Broadcasting Group through the first two weeks of 2011.
The No. 2 cable operator, in a statement issued around 8 p.m. (ET), said it was pleased that "we've reached an extension that will allow our customers to continue to receive all Sinclair Broadcasting stations uninterrupted through Jan 14th and allows us to continue negotiating to reach a long-term agreement."
The parties faced expiration of their retransmission-consent contract covering 33 stations within the MSO's footprint at 11:59 p.m. on Dec 31.
Sinclair could not be immediately reached for comment.
Time Warner Cable advised its subscribers to check out its www.rolloverorgettough.com for updates.
The rhetoric had been rising in the dispute this past week with Sinclair declaring on Dec. 28 that its negotiations with the MSO were over after TWC rejected its most recent monthly license fee offer averaging a 10 cents per subscriber increase. Sinclair said that the MSO has refused to provide a financial counter-proposal, effectively ending negotiations.
TWC held a differing view of the situations and indicated today that negotiations were continuing. On Dec. 30, the cable company announced that it would make all Big 4 network fare available to Sinclair's ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates into February. Additionally, the MSO also has a deal in place with Fox covering national programming like Glee, House and American Idol and National Football League games.
Whether those gambits influenced the parties to extend their negotiations was unclear at press time.
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