Retransmission is becoming like a hockey game. Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC-WI) and Sinclair Broadcast Group have riveted everyone's attention with their center ice fisticuffs but peripheral fights are breaking out all over the rest of the arena.
In Central New York and parts of New Hampshire, Time Warner Cable has thrown down the gloves with Smith Media, causing New York State Sen. James Seward to issue a statement urging the two sides to settle because, among other things, that "local news is vital from a public safety standpoint." It's also brought Vic Vetters, Smith's vice president and group manager to tell the cable operator that keeping the local stations on cable is "really for the sake of the identity" of the community.
Meanwhile, in Central Oregon, Chambers Communications reportedly asked Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH) for a 500 percent rate increase then failed to negotiate. "This is the highest one I've seen where someone is not willing to come to the table and offer something more reasonable," a Dish spokeswoman said. Chambers, in response, said it did but Dish rejected them.
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