News Corp. and Time Warner "called a 45-day truce"
yesterday, guaranteeing subscribers in five cities Fox's
broadcast of the Super Bowl on Time Warner's cable
programming, according to Walt Belcher of the TAMPA TRIBUNE.
A feud between the two over cable carriage had threatened
removal of Fox programming on certain Time Warner cable
systems on January 1. Five cities would have been affected
-- Tampa, FL; Austin, TX; Kansas City, MO; Milwaukee, WI and
Detroit, MI -- and up to 1.5 million homes. Under terms of
the deal, Time Warner will carry the Fox TV stations for 45
days. In Tampa, Fox newspaper and TV ads accused Time
Warner of "holding viewers hostage" and resulted in 700
complaint calls to Time Warner's area office (TAMPA TRIBUNE,
12/19). In Milwaukee, Tim Cuprisin notes "almost everybody
wins" in the temporary settlement (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL
SENTINEL, 12/19). In New York, Bill Carter reports execs
close to the deal said Fox "blinked in this latest
confrontation, concerned that it would [be] blamed by
advertisers, the N.F.L., and especially by viewers in the
cities affected for not being able to see the football
games" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/19).
