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By Sarah K. Winn
Despite concerns that WSAZ-TV, Charleston and Huntington's NBC affiliate, would be dropped from a local cable company's lineup, the station will remain on the air, for now, WSAZ's station manager said Wednesday.
"As in any negotiation, everybody asks for something," station manager Jack Deakin said. "The negotiating is ongoing."
WSAZ was scheduled to be pulled from Adelphia Communications' cable lineup on Wednesday because of retransmission consent negotiations, Deakin said. The negotiations were extended for one week, said Paul Jacobson, vice president of corporate communications for the Colorado-based cable television company.
The 1992 Cable Act requires cable systems to work out agreements - called retransmission consent - with local broadcast stations in order to carry local channels.
Cable companies can pay a fee to the local station or have a "must carry" agreement, which requires that the cable company provide specific cable stations in exchange for local channels.
These contracts are reviewed every three years, Jacobson said.
Although he could not give specifics about the current dealings, Adelphia hasn't paid WSAZ any money to carry them in the past, Deakin said.
With WSAZ currently carried on 150 cable outlets in the Charleston and Huntington market, which includes 32 counties in three states, negotiations are complicated, he said.
"All the deals need to be the same," he said.
Satellite cable providers, which can now provide local channels, have added to the confusion, he said.
WSAZ had been running commercials and Web site advertisements advising viewers to contact Adelphia urging them to keep WSAZ, he said. The commercials and online advertisements stopped on Tuesday, when a tentative agreement was reached, he said.
If the station and Adelphia had not reached the agreement, it is unclear what would have replaced WSAZ, said Steve Cuckler, director of law and government affairs for Adelphia's operations serving the Huntington area.
"We are just glad we could work something out," he said.
To contact staff writer Sarah K. Winn, use e-mail or call 348- 5156.
