Channel carriage negotiations around News Corp's Fox network channels had hit an impasse when News demanded a $1 monthly per-subscriber fee for its channels. Owners of major US channel networks historically have not sought this type of direct payments during channel carriage negotiations.
The details of the latest deal have not been released. It was announced late on Friday, about an hour before the start of college football's Sugar Bowl, which was being shown on Fox. A blackout would have hit viewers in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and other major cities in the country.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the dispute had been characterised by both sides as "a crossroads for the television business". News Corp presented its position as an effort to shake up broadcast television amid shaky advertising income and shrinking audience shares. Time Warner Cable said payment demands from programmers like News Corp could force higher consumer cable-television bills and even an unraveling of the cable system, through which around 90-per-cent of American households watch TV.
