ABC affiliate WKRN-TV Nashville has informed viewers that it has yet to reach a new retrans deal with Mediacom and that the current contract will expire on July 14.
In an online alert to Mediacom subs, the station, which is owned by Media General, said it was working hard to reach a new deal, but said it was important to keep viewers informed of the progress, or lack of it, given the approaching deadline.
It said that "by law," if it did not reach an agreement, Mediacom could no longer carry WKRN. FCC rules say that "until the cable operator and the television station reach an agreement, the cable operator is prohibited from carrying [a] station's signal."
WKRN asked Mediacom subs to call their cable company—it supplied Mediacom's number—and tell it they don't want to pay for programming they may not get if an agreement is not reached. "May" because those subs could use an antenna to get the programming or switch to an alternative MVPD, a list of which WKRN helpfully supplied on the Web site.
It also listed all the local programming Mediacom subs get, and could be missing, if a deal is not struck in time, including high value sports programming for demos young and old—the X Games and the British Open golf championship, both of which start July 18.
Mediacom had no comment on the status of the negotiations or the alert from WKRN, but was expected to weigh in by Tuesday.
