KBSI warns of local Fox blackout on DIRECTV

Satellite subscribers may lose access to Fox 23 KBSI as of Friday, if the station's owners and satellite provider DIRECTV cannot come to terms on fees.

KBSI, based in Cape Girardeau, posted this notice on its website Wednesday: "Beginning on March 1, 2013 we no longer expect this station to be carried by DIRECTV. This blackout of our programming will only affect DIRECTV subscribers. Dish network and cable subscribers will not be affected. Only DIRECTV subscribers are expected to lose access to this station on March 1st. We apologize for any inconvenience and suggest DIRECTV subscribers call DIRECTV at 1-800-DIRECTV (347-3288) or make alternative arrangements to continue to watch our great programming."

Both companies have published notices on their websites detailing their points of view.

Sinclair Broadcast Group, KBSI's owner, said the impasse stems from a disagreement about how much DIRECTV should pay to carry the channel. Local stations are available over the airwaves to people with digital antennas, but Sinclair said DIRECTV should pay to retransmit its content because the company charges its subscribers for access.

"Local TV stations pay millions of dollars each year to buy high-quality programming and to produce important

informational programs, such as the local news. It is just standard business practice that the satellite companies should pay for the right to resell programming to their subscribers," Sinclair's statement said.

Local stations can require satellite providers to carry them, but they then cannot collect compensation and have no control of their placement in the channel lineup.

On the other side of the argument, DIRECTV said the problem is caused by stations trying to extract excessive fees.

"When contracts come to an end, we negotiate new agreements, and the vast majority of the time you never hear about them. But sometimes programmers demand an increase that's two, three, even four times or more what they ever received before -- and all for the exact same channels. We believe it's our responsibility to take a stand and protect you from these excessive price increases so you don't see an unnecessary increase to your families' monthly bill," a DIRECTV statement said. "Programmers and local station owners forced a record number of 84 channel blackouts in 2012, compared with 51 in 2011 and 12 in 2010. Every year, they're doubling down in their efforts to extract increasingly excessive fees for the exact same channels. And in doing so, they're holding every TV viewer hostage. We cannot let this trend continue."

Sinclair's stance is that the situation is part of the normal course of doing business.

"We would not characterize this as Sinclair 'pulling its stations' or DIRECTV 'refusing to carry' Sinclair's stations. This is simply the case of a buyer and seller being unable to agree on price, something that occurs every day in both commercial and consumer transactions," Sinclair's statement said.

Movement is being made toward a compromise, said DIRECTV's senior director of public relations, Robert Mercer.

"DIRECTV continues to make significant progress each day toward a new long-term programming relationship with Sinclair Broadcast Group. This offers further assurance to our customers that there will be no interruption of their local programming. We also anticipate that, even in the most extreme case, Sinclair and DIRECTV will agree to a brief extension beyond the initial Feb. 28 deadline to hammer out any final details," Mercer said.

Barry M. Faber, executive vice president and general counsel for Sinclair, was not available for comment Wednesday afternoon.

Other local news providers say they will continue to be carried on DIRECTV.

Tim Ingram, vice president and general manager of The Heartland's CW and KFVS12, which broadcasts CBS content, said the station is not in negotiations with DIRECTV. Bill Evans, vice president of news and operations at WPSD Local 6, an NBC affiliate in Paducah, Ky., and Steve Wheeler, general manager of WSIL Channel 3, an ABC station based in Carterville, Ill., said they are not engaged in retransmission negotiations.

Sinclair Broadcast Group has television stations that reach approximately 27.1 percent of U.S. television households, according to its website. DIRECTV's company profile says it serves 32 million customers in the U.S. and Latin America.

salderman@semissourian.com

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