Nexstar Broadcasting and Cable One are at odds over a new per-subscriber charge that adds up to approximately $1.3 million over the next four years.
The disagreement has led Irving, Texas, based-Nexstar to possibly pull three local broadcast affiliates from Cable One. Unless the two companies can broker a deal, the stations that will be pulled are KSNF (NBC) and KODE (ABC) in Joplin, Mo. and KTAL (NBC) covering Texarkana, Texas. Current carriage rights end on Dec. 31. In 1992 Congress gave TV stations the authority to grant or deny permission for cable TV systems to carry their signals.
According to Cable One, Nexstar said that the additional fees are to cover the cost of eventual HDTV broadcasts, although Nexstar does not yet offer HDTV.
