No progress in talks over cable

As of Friday, Time Warner Cable and Fox 28, a local Fox affiliate, remained at an impasse over whether the cable company should have to pay the station to carry its programming. That left Time Warner Cable’s customers in North Idaho, Moscow and Pullman without Fox 28’s popular TV programming.

Fox 28 pulled the plug on the cable company Thursday at midnight after more than five months of unsuccessful negotiations. Last-minute talks between the station’s owner, Northwest Broadcasting, and the cable company failed to bring the parties any closer to resolution and may have created an even larger chasm between the two sides.

According to Correen Stauffer, the northwest area general manager for Time Warner Cable, Fox 28 increased its demands by 400 percent at the last minute.

“In our eyes they are not seeking to reach an agreement,” she said.

Jon Rand, the general manager of Fox 28, accused Stauffer and Time Warner Cable of “spinning lies.” Rand said that Fox 28 has not increased its demands by a four-fold margin as Stauffer alleges.

“It’s shocking to hear the kinds of things that they will say,” he said. “I’m appalled.”

Time Warner Cable is offering affected customers antennas and A/B switches for free so they can access Fox 28 over the air.

“Customers that have come into our facility have been very supportive of us and trying to negotiate on our behalf,” she said.

But satellite television retailers in Coeur d’Alene reported that fed-up cable customers are already switching to satellite.

Stephanie Crago, co-owner of independent Dish Network retailer Best Satellite, said she signed up four or five new customers on Thursday, all former cable patrons, and received over twenty inquiries from cable customers.

“The customers are not happy at all,” she said. “They’re very angry with Time Warner … and with losing Fox.”

Crago, who has been in the satellite industry for seven years, said she sides with Fox 28 on the issue.

Rand said that the loss in viewers likely wouldn’t impact his station all that much. Affected viewers only represent about 5 percent of the station’s total viewers.

“In the big scheme of things, it’s not going to hurt us that much,” he said.

The two parties have scheduled talks early early next week, according to Rand.