Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 27, 1993 TAG: 9308270164
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A9 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE:
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Short
CBS has been seeking cash fees from cable operators for broadcast retransmissions. An impasse in the talks had threatened to deprive some cable subscribers of access to CBS shows this fall, including baseball's World Series.
That still could happen if cable systems and CBS cannot work out agreements over the retransmission issue in the next few weeks, but it appeared Thursday that tensions between the network and the operators had eased.
CBS said it was talking with several of the largest multiple-system cable operators about a "proposed new programming venture" even as it continued to negotiate cash retransmission arrangements for the seven stations it owns.
The three other major networks, ABC, NBC and Fox, already have deals with key cable system operators under which they will get channel space for new networks instead of cash.
The New York Times reported in Thursday's editions that CBS had dropped its insistence on cash fees and already had reached an agreement with Comcast Cablevision, the nation's third-biggest cable system operator, that could set a pattern for CBS deals with other cable operators.
The newspaper said Comcast gets to carry CBS-owned stations without paying a fee but will add a news and public affairs channel that CBS will create. Comcast spokesmen failed to return calls. - Associated Press
by CNB