Sinclair still hasn’t decided whether it will enter into binding arbitration with Mediacom to resolve their retrans spat. Gen counsel Barry Faber said the broadcaster is taking a while to consider arbitration, which was a recommendation by the FCC’s Media Bureau. "It’s very unusual for a business to give up the decision-making process to an unrelated 3rd party," he said during a conference call Tues. If Sinclair did agree to it, it’s very possible the parameters it would require would be different from Mediacom’s, Faber added. Sinclair pulled about 22 of its stations from about 700K Mediacom subs at 12:01am Sat. "The parties do not appear to be moving any closer to getting a deal done. The current situation is one that may continue for a long time," Faber said. He criticized Mediacom’s claim that Sinclair doesn’t care about the citizens of Iowa and the MSO’s attempts to have the state legislature intervene. "It’s a desperate gambit to somehow obtain legislative help for a problem they can’t solve on their own," he said.

The Daily

Subscribe
Friday–September 5

Cox Has Plenty of Friends in SCOTUS Copyright Case

A flood of amicus briefs hit the U.S. Supreme Court Friday in support of Cox ’s request for a review of a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that found the operator liable for secondary copyright

Read the Full Issue
The Skinny is delivered on Tuesday and focuses on the cable profession. You'll stay in the know on the headlines, topics and special issues you value most. Sign Up

Calendar

Sep 11
2025 Faxies Awards Faxies Nominations Open! Final deadline: 4/4/25
Full Calendar

Jobs

Seeking an INDUSTRY JOB or hiring for one?
VIEW JOBS

In conjunction with our sister brand, Cynopsis, we are offering hiring managers a deep pool of media-savvy, skilled candidates at a range of experience levels and sectors. The result will be an even more robust industry job board, to help both employers and job seekers.

Contact us at marketing@cynopsis.com, for more information about posting a job on the website and our Jobs newsletter, sent twice weekly to 85,000 media professionals.