Time Is On Our Side?

It’s no surprise that the retransmission negotiations between News Corp. and Time Warner Cable are coming down to the Dec. 31 deadline. Deals like this one traditionally go down until the very end. And it’s not a surprise that the story is just now beginning to get mainstream press pick up. The N.Y. TIMES reports that talks are "about to start in earnest" in L.A., with TWC President & CEO Glenn Britt and News Corp. President & COO Chase Carey taking the lead. While details of the offers going back and forth are scant, most focus on a $1 per sub fee demand by Fox, and some analysts believe that the companies "will reach a compromise" of about $0.50-0.60 per subscriber. If you’re News Corp., any sub fee has to be considered a plus. But where it ends up will set the market and bar for future negotiations. The biggest leverage wielded during the PR offensive continues to be sports programming, with Fox’s coverage of the major bowl games and upcoming NFL season-ending action, including the heavily-hyped Eagles-Cowboys game Sunday for the NFC East title.