Relax, Football Fans

“Football fans and ‘American Idol’ devotees can breathe a sigh of relief. Fox and Time Warner Cable have reached a deal in principle that will keep the network on the cable provider after Fox threatened to pull the plug over a fee dispute. Friday’s agreement, which included Bright House Networks, ended a week of public sparring that had some viewers worried they’d miss Friday night’s Sugar Bowl, Saturday’s Cotton Bowl and Sunday’s professional football lineup, as well as an array of other programming. Fox had been threatening to force Time Warner Cable and Bright House to drop the Fox broadcast signal from 14 of its TV stations and half a dozen of its cable channels as a contract expired at midnight Thursday. But signals were extended into Friday as talks continued, allowing more than 6 million cable subscribers in New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, Fla., and other markets to continue viewing programs. Neither company would divulge the terms of the deal. Fox wanted to be paid $1 per cable subscriber each month for the broadcast signal it had once given away freely from the stations it owns.”