Official says Charter still hopes for deal with WVEC-TV

SUFFOLK

An official from Charter Communications said he hopes to avoid losing WVEC-TV, Channel 13, for viewers by striking a deal before a Dec. 31 deadline.

"It may even be an eleventh- hour deal, if possible," said Anthony Pope, vice president and general manager of operations for Charter, which operates in several Hampton Roads communities.

WVEC-TV announced Monday that failed negotiations between the two parties meant the cable provider would no longer carry the ABC affiliate beginning Jan. 1.

Pope said Tuesday that it would be WVEC that requests Charter to terminate the feed if no deal is reached. He said network affiliates are increasingly taking such action to charge pay-TV providers for their content, which is still free over the airwaves.

"This is beginning to become, unfortunately, the norm, more so than an unusual situation," Pope said.

Charter currently does not pay WVEC. The station wants about a penny a month per subscriber, said Paul Fry, vice president of investor relations and corporate communications for WVEC parent company Belo Corp.

Fry said Belo deals with 13 million satellite and cable TV subscribers across the country, and it has successfully negotiated deals with all of its many other carriers.

"We receive a payment from all other providers as well, so this is not unusual," he said of the request.

Impasses happen occasionally, but the disagreements are usually resolved before they disrupt service, Fry said.

Charter's Pope said his cable company is willing to pay something. "Now we've got to determine what it is," he said.

Suffolk viewers would be the biggest losers in a protracted dispute between the companies. Pope said most of Charter's Hampton Roads customers - about 27,000 - are in Suffolk, where Charter is the only cable provider.

Charter also serves several thousand people in Franklin, the Eastern Shore and the Outer Banks.

Dave Forster, (757) 222-5563, dave.forster@pilotonline.com