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Time Warner Cable has good news and bad news for NFL fans as the 2007 season opens in earnest this weekend.
First, the good. Both Bangor ABC television affiliate WVII (Channel 7) and sister station/Fox affiliate WFVX (Ch. 22) are now available on Time Warner cable systems in high definition (HD).
The bad news, however, is that Time Warner and the NFL still have not reached an agreement that would put the NFL Network on Time Warner’s cable systems.
The development of adding HD, which comes just in time for the Sunday doubleheader featuring Philadelphia at Green Bay (1 p.m.) and Chicago at San Diego (4:15 p.m.), resulted from ongoing negotiations between officials of the local stations and Time Warner.
“We’ll have a full page ad about it Saturday,” said Peter DeWitt, Time Warner New England division spokesperson. “Getting local HD affiliates in the Bangor area has been a priority for us and we’re really happy to be able to bring those two stations into the fold.
“I don’t believe WVII or WFVX are available on satellite [in high definition] at the current time in the area, so this takes on even more significance,” he added.
All customers need is an HD-capable TV and an HD converter box from Time Warner to enjoy the full benefits of HD broadcasts.
That leaves Bangor’s WABI (Ch. 5) as a holdout.
“Our negotiations on that front are ongoing as well,” DeWitt said.
“We’re trying to get together, but I think they were involved with these other negotiations and we haven’t been able to so far,” said Steve Hiltz, WABI program director. “We’re working on it and we’re expecting to have talks very soon.”
Those talks will be in addition to the ongoing ones between Time Warner and NFL officials over the long-running standoff between the two regarding getting the NFL Network onto Time Warner’s cable systems.
“We’re still continuing our ongoing negotiations with NFL Network and we certainly want to provide the network to our customers,” DeWitt said. “It comes down to offering it on a sports tier so folks who want it can pay for it and those folks who don’t want it don’t have to.”
That’s what Time Warner wants. NFL Network officials want it placed with a regular or non-premium tier service.
“That seems to be the issue of the moment,” DeWitt said. “It’s difficult for me to comment because those negotiations are taking place at a higher level at the current time.”
What looms as a fairly significant crack in the long-running icy negotiations is a recent deal between the NFL and Comcast to carry the network.
“Comcast, which is the largest cable provider in the U.S., does have a deal with the NFL to carry the network on a sports tier, so that could change things,” DeWitt said. “I don’t know any details about their deal. I think that was fairly recent.”
WZON corrals Cowherd
ESPN Radio morning host Colin Cowherd is coming to the Bangor Civic Center Saturday, Sept. 15, at the invitation of Bangor all-sports radio station WZON (620 AM).
The evening presentation starts with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. A “tailgate” dinner including mini hamburgers, hot wings, sausages and desserts will be served and Cowherd will start the presentation around 7:15 p.m.
Tickets are $10 per person and include the dinner. Only 400 are being sold, and they can be purchased by calling the WZON office at 990-2800 or stopping into the station on Broadway.
“I would say by Monday or Tuesday, they’ll probably be gone,” said WZON afternoon show host Jeff Solari.
Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600 or at aneff@bangordailynews.net
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