The retransmission-consent agreement between Time Warner Cable and Cordillera's quartet of Corpus Christi stations, including NBC affiliate KRIS and Telemundo outlet KAJA, expired at midnight Dec. 13, leaving the stations dark for Time Warner Cable subscribers in the market.
Cordillera's other affected stations include a CW affiliate, which airs on KRIS's dot-two channel, and an independent station.
KRIS' website says "we continue to work towards a new agreement" and instructed affected viewers to "please urge Time Warner to bring back your favorite programs and these four stations now."
A Time Warner Cable (TWC) spokesperson called Cordillera's retrans demands "unjustified," and said the cable operator offered the broadcaster an extension through March so the two parties could negotiate without viewers being affected.
"Cordillera is demanding unjustified rates--more than a 400% increase over current compensation--to continue carrying the programming that they deliver over the air for free, including unprecedented requests for certain payments for their signals," said TWC in a statement. "This put us in the position where we had no reasonable choices, and were forced to stop carrying their signals."
Affected viewers can watch much of NBC's prime through Time Warner Cable's on demand service, said the TWC spokesperson, and the bulk of the CW fare online. Telemundo's national feed, added the spokesperson, has been imported into the market for viewers affected by the disconnect.
