Cox, WIBW come to terms

By Michael Hooper

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

The soap opera is over.

After publicly battling for several weeks, WIBW-TV and Cox Communications reached an agreement Thursday to keep WIBW on the Cox cable lineup in Topeka.

Sarah Kauffman, spokeswoman for Cox, said the deal was between Cox and Gray Television's WIBW in Topeka, KAKE in Wichita, WJHG in Panama City, Fla., and WTVY in Dothan, Ala.

The two sides reached an agreement late Thursday afternoon, about six hours before WIBW was scheduled to go off Cox. Terms weren't disclosed.

The deal came a week before the start of the NCAA Tournament, which is aired on CBS affiliates, such as WIBW.

"We have a signed agreement," said Jim Ogle, general manager of WIBW. "This isn't an extension. We're not going off cable."

Ogle declined to provide details, saying there was a confidentiality clause preventing both sides from talking about the contract.

WIBW had asked for monetary compensation from Cox for WIBW's programming, but Cox didn't want to pay for a signal that consumers can get for free by antenna.

"I'm confident that we got a deal both sides feel comfortable with," Ogle said.

Kauffman said the deal was good for consumers.

"It's good for them, they have endured enough," Kauffman said of viewers. "I'm glad the agreement has been reached."

Kauffman said she was disappointed that negotiations were discussed in the media.

"That wasn't necessary," she said. "That put doubt in the consumers' mind and was unnecessary."

When asked if this case would lead to others like it, Kauffman said: "All negotiations are private and done at the corporate level with parent companies. In the agreement, it specifically addresses confidentiality of the contract. I would hope other broadcasters would keep that in mind when negotiating any contract."

WIBW's five-year agreement with Cox expired Dec. 31, 2007, but it was extended three times. The latest deadline was 11:59 p.m. Thursday.

The Federal Communications Commission requires a cable company to provide public notification about the possibility of removing a local channel 30 days ahead of time. On Feb. 4, Kauffman, public affairs director at Cox Communications in Wichita, wrote a letter to the Shawnee County clerk, saying Cox may have to drop WIBW on Feb. 29 if it couldn't get a retransmission agreement.

"It was required by FCC rule," Ogle said.

Once that became public he said, the issues started growing. Cox had said customers may see increases in their bills if WIBW gets monetary compensation. Then WIBW announced it was asking for one penny per day per Cox subscriber. Last week, WIBW said it had come down from that offer. Ogle wouldn't comment on whether WIBW actually got monetary compensation in its new agreement with Cox. Neither side would release the length of the new agreement.

"I feel like I'm on death watch," Ogle said before the agreement had been reached. "This has been like a bad soap opera."

WIBW announced to its viewers it had reached an agreement at about 6:20 p.m. during the evening news.

"I'm just thankful this is over," Ogle told The Topeka Capital- Journal. "This isn't about loving one another, it's about working together going forward."

WIBW's designated market area comprises 17 counties. About 41 percent of that area gets WIBW from Cox, and 59 percent gets it from some other provider or over the air.

In the communities served by Cox, about 60 percent of consumers subscribe to cable, 20 percent receive television by satellite and the rest put up rabbit ears, according to Cox.

During the negotiations, several customers said they jumped to satellite providers.

It is rare for a television station to go black on a cable network, but it has happened. On Dec. 14, 2006, KAYU, a Fox affiliate in Spokane, Wash., went off the cable lineup for more than a year until reaching an agreement with Time Warner just before this year's Super Bowl. Terms of the six-year deal weren't disclosed.

Michael Hooper can be reached at (785)295-1293 or

michael.hooper@cjonline.com.

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