Assumption causes Fox blackout

Bangor area fans expecting to warm up for last Sunday’s NFC playoff game by watching the Fox Network’s pregame show tuned in to find ads for pay-per-view movies on instead.

The pay-per-view ads, used by Cablevision in place of blacked-out programming, ran instead of the pregame show on Portland station WPXT-TV (Channel 51) until 12 minutes before kickoff at 3:48 p.m. due to a miscommunication between Bangor TV station WABI (Ch. 5) and Cablevision.

“We hadn’t communicated with them on this,” said WABI program director Steve Hiltz. “Our assumption was that they knew we weren’t taking the 4 p.m. game and wouldn’t need the pregame show blacked out.”

WABI aired two NCAA women’s basketball games instead.

The problem lies with the wording of WABI’s contract with Fox, according to Cablevision engineering manager Robert Jones.

WABI was entitled to air selected NFC regular season, postseason wildcard, and playoff games starting between noon and 4 p.m., thanks to a one-year deal with Fox. WABI did not air Sunday games with 4 p.m. start times in order to avoid a conflict with CBS’ 60 Minutes at 7 p.m.

Thus, WABI did not take Sunday’s NFC playoff between the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers. But the station’s exclusivity clause was technically still in effect for any NFC-programming during that time block, and Cablevision dutifully followed it.

Jones, who said fans’ calls to Cablevision prompted them to investigate and then lift the blackout by 3:48 p.m., said the game was never in jeopardy, as Cablevision’s system would have automatically cut off the blackout at 4 p.m.

Jones said the whole thing basically came down to communication and WABI letting them know about late scheduling changes.

Hiltz said the blackout confusion shouldn’t happen again this season as WABI will be carrying Sunday’s NFC Championship game at 12:30 p.m. and the Super Bowl.

Hiltz said there have been a few changes to Fox’s and WABI’s Super Bowl coverage Jan. 26.

Originally, Fox planned to do a two-hour Super Bowl eve special, which was to be blacked out on WPXT, at 11 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25. Instead, Fox will air an episode of Mad TV specifically geared toward the Super Bowl. This will not be blacked out.

Fox will also start its Super Bowl pregame programming an hour earlier on Sunday. Instead of 2 p.m., Fox will start at 1 p.m. with a John Madden special.

All of WPXT’s Sunday Super Bowl package will be blacked out locally as WABI will air all pregame, postgame, and Super Bowl coverage Jan. 26.