Channel 4, WIVB, will stay as part of the lineup for Bradford
and Salamanca, N.Y., cable.
According to Mike Papasergi, Atlantic Broadband’s general
manager of the northern Pennsylvania region, an agreement has been
reached to keep the channel.
“(WIVB) was good enough to give us an extension, and we used it
to get an agreement with them,” he said. “We reached an agreement
so WIVB will stay on in Bradford. Not only that, it has been put on
in Limestone, N.Y., as well. The channel was added as of
(Thursday).”
Papasergi noted the agreements are for three years.
“It certainly took the extension to get to an agreement,”
Papasergi explained. “It was a mutual collaboration between the two
parties; we got the deal done.
“I think compromises were made on both sides.”
Concerns began in December of 2008 when messages appeared on
Atlantic Broadband’s message channel and scroll that WIVB would be
dropped from the channel lineup.
At the time, David Dane, senior vice president at Atlantic
Broadband, explained the contract was set to expire at the end of
the year, and an agreement on a new contract couldn’t be reached,
as the holidays and vacations made meeting to discuss the issue
difficult.
WIVB agreed to a one-month extension to allow more time for
negotiation, making the deadline Jan. 31.