Sinclair Reaches Secret Cable Deal

The mega media standoff between Sinclair Broadcasting and Mediacom continues the blackout on Pensacola Beach of local channel 3, the ABC affiliate. But this week, the aptly-named Sin-clair Broadcasting and megacorporation Time Warner reached agreement enabling TW's cable properties to retransmit Sinclair's broadcasting signals.

Neither side is saying whether, or how much, Time Warner will pay.

No similar compromise has yet been reached between Sinclair and Mediacom. But Mediacom executives are saying that whatever the details, they're willing to take, blind, the same deal from Sinclair that Time Warner now has.

Mediacom on Monday was awaiting a response from Sinclair on a proposal that Mediacom made on Sunday, asking Sinclair to give Mediacom the same deal that Sinclair negotiated last week with the much larger Time Warner cable system. Mediacom said it didn't know details of the Time Warner deal, but could make it work for Mediacom if it works for Time Warner.

As Pointer On-line says, wherever you live, even "if the fight has not come to your town, it probably will."