The Fox Network’s NFL football broadcasts are still safe, but Major League Baseball playoff action may be in real danger in the Greater Bangor television market.

In a sudden and surprising reversal of fortune, Bangor station WCKD (Channel 30) – which had announced through Adelphia cable television an affiliation switch from the United Paramount Network (UPN) to the Fox Network – could soon find itself without the right or ability to air any major league playoff games scheduled to start on weeknights in October.

“We’re under contract with WCKD until [Dec. 3, 2005] and we plan on being in business with them at least until that date,” said Steve Carlston, UPN’s executive vice-president in charge of affiliate relations and network distribution. “Recently they have been pre-empting us for Fox sports broadcasts, so we wrote some letters informing them they didn’t have a right to do this.”

Last Friday, Adelphia cable television subscribers received a postcard telling them that WCKD (Adelphia channel 10) had announced a decision to change affiliation from UPN to Fox. WCKD is a low-power station which is operated and programmed by Bangor ABC affiliate WVII through a local marketing agreement with Bangor’s WBGR (Ch. 33), WCKD’s parent station. That announcement was premature, according to UPN officials.

“The only person who has the right to terminate this contract is us,” Carlston said Monday afternoon. “And we are not terminating the agreement.”

Carlston said the contract went into effect last year on Oct. 24, the date the contract was signed. WCKD went on the air on Dec. 19.

WVII general manager Mitch Lambert was noncommittal Monday when asked about the status of the station’s network switch.

“That’s something I’m trying to iron out now,” he said. “I’m waiting to hear back from UPN now.”

According to Carlston, the terms of the contract prohibit WCKD from pre-empting UPN primetime programming from 8 to 10 p.m. and its Disney children’s programming from 3 to 5 p.m. each weekday. WCKD must also air additional UPN children’s programming from 9 to 11 a.m. on Sunday plus its new Star Trek: Enterprise show, which is scheduled to air Wednesdays, but will air as a two-hour debut on a Sunday night.

That means that WCKD’s NFL programming appears to be safe as it airs Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. or 1 to 7 p.m. on doubleheader days.

It also means there will be a significant programming void for local viewers who watch Fox shows like X-Files, Ally McBeal and The Simpsons – which will no longer air in non-satellite TV households unless Adelphia can find another Fox station to plug into its lineup or another local station switches to Fox. Those shows have been aired on Portland’s WPXT (Ch. 51), but WPXT is switching affiliation to Warner Brothers (WB) Oct. 7 to attempt to attract a younger viewership.

WCKD representatives negotiated a separate, one-year contract with Fox to acquire local rights to sports broadcasts in Greater Bangor this summer.

“They’re in breach of contact, but even though we have the right to disaffiliate them at this point, we’ve chosen not to,” said Carlston. “I expect them to completely adhere to the contract and keep going forward with our programming, like Buffy, Roswell, and Smackdown, which is a big ratings hit both in that market and nationally.”

FSNNE nets Terrier hockey

Fox Sports Net New England has reached a deal with Boston University to air 10 BU Terrier hockey games this coming season.

The first game telecast is Sunday, Oct. 28, against Merrimack. The final is Saturday, March 2, against Maine.

Ratings slam for USA Network

Ratings for USA Network’s coverage of the U.S. Open tennis tournament continued soaring through the final week. Overall household ratings were up 33 percent (1,067,000 households) from last year.

Andrew Neff’s On the Air column is published each Tuesday. He can be reached at 990-8205 or at aneff@bangordailynews.net.