Cable Systems

The bitter standoff that left cable subscribers in the Midwest and South without the NFL playoffs and American Idol this month could eventually spill into the living rooms of television viewers across the country. It's part of a burgeoning battle between cable operators and broadcasters that's been brewing for 15 years but now faces its biggest test yet. At issue is whether cable operators will pay for something they've always received free: local television news broadcasts and the network affiliations that come with them.

Time Warner Cable reported last night that it had reached an agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. that allows the cable provider to continue carrying Sinclair-owned local network affiliates on its systems. Details of the agreement were not released. But in a programming notice posted on a Time Warner Web site for its mid-Ohio division, which includes Columbus, the cable company said it reached a three-year agreement with Hunt Valley-based Sinclair "for continued carriage of Sinclair-owned stations in former Adelphia [Communications Corp.

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. warned thousands of cable customers in the Midwest and South yesterday that it expects to keep blocking network affiliates such as Fox and ABC for a "long time" because of a dispute over how much local programming is worth. Hunt Valley-based Sinclair yanked 22 stations from cable systems in 13 states over the weekend after negotiations failed with a New York-based company on a price to carry the local network affiliates.

Thousands of cable customers in the Midwest and South remained without networks such as Fox and ABC yesterday in a dispute that could determine how much consumers pay for local television on cable systems nationwide. Hunt-Valley based Sinclair Broadcast Group pulled 22 local stations it owns from cable systems in several states this weekend after negotiations failed with a New York cable provider on a price to air the local content. Mediacom Communications Corp.

Sinclair Broadcasting Group is threatening to pull television stations from the air in Iowa and other states because it doesn't think the cable company in those areas is paying it enough, the latest salvo in a burgeoning battle among broadcasters nationwide over transmission fees. Sinclair is at odds with cable system owner Mediacom Communications Corp. over how much airing local stations is worth. Mediacom said late yesterday that it reached an extension with Sinclair to avoid a midnight deadline that would have pulled the stations from cable systems in the Midwest and South.

Two major employers in the Baltimore region yesterday notified workers of job-cutting plans that could affect as many as 325 people. Comcast Corp., the region's leading cable television company, will dismiss about 125 workers at its division office in White Marsh - about three-quarters of the office's staff - in the coming months. And Federated Department Stores Inc., which owns Macy's and Hecht's among others, plans in June to shutter a Baltimore distribution center that employs 200 people, though it is still unclear how many employees will lose their jobs or be offered transfers.

THE SUPREME Court this week issued two decisions involving the Internet. The bigger headlines went to the ruling that made file-sharing services liable for users' copyright violations. But the other decision - saying cable systems don't have to share their lines with other Internet providers - may have the more profound impact. This ruling hinged on whether cable broadband providers must be classified as telecommunications services by the Federal Communications Commission and thus must share with competitors their connections to households.

PHILADELPHIA - Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Corp. will divide cable systems in Los Angeles, Dallas, Minneapolis and several other big markets if their bid to buy bankrupt Adelphia Communications Corp. is approved. The proposed swaps are part of the transactions announced yesterday in which Comcast and Time Warner would buy Adelphia Communications for $17.6 billion and divide its 5.3 million subscribers. Systems in Carroll and Frederick counties in Maryland, and in Washington's Virginia suburbs are among those Comcast would get. Adelphia has almost 30,000 cable subscribers in Carroll County, said Carol Shawver, coordinator for the Carroll County Cable Regulatory Commission.

Channel 20 in Washington - which is not available on cable systems in most of the Baltimore area - is preparing to televise a substantial number of Washington Nationals games, including the team's first game Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies and its home opener April 14 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Account executives are distributing materials that say "Major League Baseball returns to the nation's capital on UPN20-WDCA" and offer potential customers different levels of sponsorships.

In the Region Adelphia to sell holdings at auction in 7 regional groups Adelphia Communications Corp.'s cable systems in Maryland will be sold at auction along with the bankrupt company's other holdings, which it said yesterday have been divided into seven regional groups. Dividing the company's cable systems into seven clusters may maximize bids by potential buyers, Adelphia Chief Executive Bill Schleyer said. He had said in April that the company would sell its assets to raise money to repay creditors who are owed more than $18 billion.