The holiday spirit came and went for retransmission opponents Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC-WI) and Sinclair Broadcast Group. Earlier reports that the two parties were about to settle their differences amicably via arbitration were premature.
At issue is the value of Sinclair's product--especially CW and MyNetworkTV stations--that TWC says is "not as attractive to customers as other content we could be carrying in its place." Sinclair, though, is bundling these channels with other more valuable content (sound familiar?) and is holding consumers "hostage."
Sinclair responded that Time Warner Cable has other reasons for objecting to its arbitration proposal, not the least of which is a not surprising cable demand that the arbitration be "conducted in complete secrecy with no access to information for the public."
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