THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 20, 1996 TAG: 9607200224
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 94 lines
The 1996 Olympics are finally here, but many folks in Currituck County are seeing red and feeling blue.
The rural North Carolina county has had an NBC blackout since January because of a long-running dispute between a Hampton Roads network affiliate and one of the country's largest cable companies.
``First it was the Super Bowl. Now they've got us with the Olympics,'' said a disgusted Eddie Hawley, owner of Dixie B-B-Q Pit in Powells Point.
Hawley solved his problem by buying a satellite dish. But there are about 2,500 others who live in the county who find themselves again fumbling with rooftop antennea and fidgeting with rabbit ears after years of cable comfort.
Since passage of the Cable Act of 1992, WAVY TV 10 had been negotiating with the New York-based U.S. Cablevision Group, L.P., to retransmit its signal to 11,000 customers in northeastern North Carolina. Those negotiations broke down after a three-year broadcast extension, just before this year's Super Bowl.
Other Cablevision customers in nearby Camden, Perquimans, Chowan and Northampton counties can still receive ``E.R.,'' ``Seinfeld,'' ``Today,'' ``Days of Our Lives'' and other NBC programs through WITN in Washington, N.C.
But Currituck County is in WAVY's exclusive broadcast domain, which gives the Hampton Roads station the right to block any duplicated programming. Congress gave WAVY and its parent company, Lin Broadcasting, that leverage four years ago so it could compete with other broadcasters who are paid by cable companies to carry their networks, said Ed Munson, general manager of WAVY.
``It gave rights back to TV stations that had been abused by cable companies who charged for stations and then didn't share money with stations,'' Munson said.
Although WAVY can be picked up for free through television antennas, the signal usually is much stronger and more storm-resistant when carried on a basic cable service.
Cablevision officials contend that they have helped broaden WAVY's advertising base by carrying its signal to subscribers throughout North Carolina - many of whom regularly shop and eat in Hampton Roads.
Now, WAVY advertising does not reach potential customers who have been cut off for the past six months, Currituck County cable subscribers said.
Cablevision officials say they have not had to pay for other ``free'' stations, including Hampton Roads' WVEC and WTKR, which carry ABC and CBS programming, respectively.
``If we pay WAVY, we are going to end up setting a precedent, and we're going to end up paying all the other networks,'' said Kathy Wynn, a system manager at Cablevision's office in Plymouth.
``Before long, a cable customer could easily have a cable bill, and it would be for nothing but off-air channels that they could pick up off their antenna,'' she continued.
But for hundreds of Currituck County residents, even that isn't possible. While WAVY's signal is fairly strong in the northern part of the county - which is closer to the station's tower in Suffolk - it's nearly impossible to pick up with any clarity south of Coinjock.
``I do miss `Seinfeld,' `Frasier' and the sports - especially with football season coming on,'' said Paul O'Neal, a Waterlily resident who represents the south end of the county on the Currituck County Board of Commissioners.
O'Neal is just one of several politicians trying to restore NBC programing to constituents.
``We've tried congressional action. We've tried shaming WAVY. We've tried everything that I know of,'' O'Neal said last month during one of several discussions at county commissioner meetings.
Both the county and Cablevision recently have filed briefs with the Federal Communications Commission to break the impasse. No action has been taken.
A similar case between Lin Broadcasting and Cablevision in Kalamazoo, Mich., is before the FCC. But, unlike Currituck, a loophole has allowed NBC programing to continue in disputed markets.
While frustrations run high, some residents, like Hawley, fear the cable company will eventually pull out of the county and not be replaced. Others place blame primarily on Cablevision for not allowing subscribers to decide if they want WAVY for a fee.
Efforts to lure other operators, including Cox Cable, have so far proved futile.
The county's mainland population of about 13,000 would make it extremely difficult to profitably service a majority of residents. Cablevision serves only about 20 percent of the population, namely because of its density requirements.
``I feel sick about the fact that Cablevision customers can't get WAVY,'' said Munson, who took out a full-page newspaper advertisement on the opening day of the Olympics to apologize to Currituck cable customers.
The ad said a new transmitter and ``circularly polarized antenna'' should provide a clearer picture of Olympic activities. But, he also admitted some folks would not be able to pick up a strong enough signal to fully enjoy the Atlanta Games.
Munson also noted that 10 other cable operators serving southestern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina have accepted agreements with WAVY.
``Cablevision is the only cable company in the entire North Carolina and Virginia market that we don't have an agreement with,'' he said.
Although he declined to discuss details of the negotiations, Munson did say the cost to consumers amounted to ``less than a penny a day.'' by CNB