Retrans Talks Between Fox, Mediacom Expected To Heat Up

By John Ourand, Staff Writer

Mediacom is facing a New Year's Eve deadline on a retransmission consent pact with Fox, meaning Fox' broadcast channel could go dark on Mediacom systems on New Year's Day. The two sides are believed to be far apart. But talks are expected to heat up in the next week, especially now that Mediacom has cut a retrans deal with the Sinclair Broadcast Group. Mediacom and Sinclair Wednesday announced that they reached a two-year retrans deal for 22 stations in 16 markets. This marks the fourth major carriage negotiation Fox has undertaken in the past year. In '10, Fox cut deals with Time Warner Cable, Cablevision and Dish Network amid much public rancor. The negotiations with Mediacom have been much quieter, staying out of the public eye so far. With more than 1.2 million subscribers, Mediacom is the 12th biggest distributor in the U.S.