Business & Tech

UPDATED: Charter Cable Drops WSB-TV on Jan. 1

The Atlanta station and the cable TV carrier are in a dispute over rights fees.

Updated 12:47 a.m., Jan 1, 2014:

Shortly after midnight Jan. 1, WSB-TV went dark on the Charter cable television lineup, in a dispute over retransmission rights fees.
"Charter is calmly negotiating to bring this station back on the air," a Charter programmed statement said. "Unfortunately, the owners of this station are demanding an unfair rate increase ..."

"We want to keep this station on the air, but not at a price that would increase fees to our customers. ... This was their decision, and we apologize for their actions."

The loss of WSB means not only the loss of local news telecasts, but the loss of ABC network programming, which includes such shows as "Good Morning America" and "Modern Family."

WSB news telecasts are streamed live on wsbtv.com, and some ABC programming is available on a delayed basis on hulu.com.

Original post, 10:14 p.m., Dec. 31, 2013:


The arrival of 2014 will also mean the loss of WSB-TV from the Charter cable television lineup.

According to an announcement Tuesday (Dec. 31) by WSB, Charter will drop WSB and its digital companion MeTV from its lineup because the parties could not reach an agreement over retransmission rights fees.

"Cox Media Group and Charter were working diligently to come to a fair and reasonable agreement,” Tim McVay, vice president and general manager of WSB-TV, said in the announcement. “However, it is now clear than an agreement will not be reached.

Barring a last minute deal, Charter will black out the station’s feed at midnight during “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin Eve with Ryan Seacrest,” the WSB story said.

This also would mean the loss of ABC programming on WSB, such as “Good Morning America,” and ABC programs like "Modern Family."

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