Clear Creek Telephone & TeleVision’s Compensation Proposal was denied by KATU

Jan. 6, 2009 - PRLog -- Clear Creek Telephone & TeleVision announced today that KATU has rejected Clear Creek’s compromise on compensation for carriage of ABC programming on Clear Creek's channel lineup. According to Clear Creek President, Mitchell Moore, “Clear Creek's request for an extension to allow negotiations to continue was refused by KATU’s owner, Fischer Communications. Clear Creek’s offer of a penny-a-day per customer carriage fee was rejected.”

“Clear Creek is committed to negotiate on behalf of our members and make every attempt to limit the impact of KATU's demands on cable customer bills. Our counter offer to KATU benefited all parties by shifting some of the cost burden from our cable customers to Clear Creek. Unfortunately, KATU is committed to a higher per subscriber rate with the full cost paid, in cash, by our customers.”

Moore continued, “Clear Creek is willing to offer consideration for carriage of KATU in the form of cash plus other forms of compensation. We believe, however, that the amount demanded by Fischer Communications is excessive.  Cable bills for our customers will increase significantly even though KATU is available, over the air, to non-cable customers at no cost. At Clear Creek we are working to keep cable rates as affordable as possible for our members. Cable operators do not have the ability to place broadcast channels on a separate, optional tier of service, therefore, fees demanded by KATU and other local broadcast stations will simply increase cable prices for every customer regardless of their viewing preferences.”

While it is true similar negotiations are happening around the country, this aggressive move by KATU is precedent-setting in Oregon. Clear Creek has recently made extensive investments in equipment allowing our viewers to see KATU’s signal after the DTV conversion scheduled for February 17, 2009. These investments benefit KATU and their advertisers. Clear Creek believes its cable customers should receive some consideration for these investments through the negotiation of reasonable fees to KATU.

Fischer Communications has informed Clear Creek that they no longer have their consent for carriage of KATU and demanded their signal not be delivered to Clear Creek’s customers. We regret the inconvenience that our compliance with KATU's decision to remove their signal will cause our valued customers. Fischer Communications considers the parties at an impasse and are rejecting Clear Creek's attempts to continue negotiations. Additionally, Clear Creek’s request for interim retransmission consent while negotiations continue has been denied by Fischer Communications.  

About Clear Creek Telephone & TeleVision:

Clear Creek Telephone & TeleVision was incorporated in 1906 as a cooperative telephone company serving the residents of the Oregon City, Redland, Springwater and Viola areas.  Today they provide telephone service, long distance service, cable television, and Internet access, including cable modem access to over 3,000 members.  For more information contact Mitchell Moore at Clear Creek Telephone & TeleVision or visit the corporate website at www.ccmtc.com.

About KATU:

KATU is a television station broadcasting on channel 2 in Portland, Oregon. It has been owned by Fisher Communications of Seattle, Washington, owner of the Seattle ABC affiliate KOMO-TV, since its inception and is currently affiliated with the ABC Television Network. Its transmitter is located in Portland. KATU also owns and operates local Univision affiliate KUNP-LP channel 47. For more information about KATU, go to www.katu.com.

About Fisher Communications:

Fisher Communications, Inc. is a Seattle-based communications company that owns and operates 13 full power television stations (including a 50%-owned television station), 7 low power television stations and 8 radio stations in the Western United States. The Company owns and operates Fisher Pathways, a satellite and fiber transmission provider; Fisher Plaza, a media, telecommunications, and data center facility located near downtown Seattle; and Pegasus News, an online start-up and hyper-local media pioneer based in Dallas. For more information about Fisher Communications, Inc., go to www.fsci.com.