Kent:
Thank you for writing us at KOIN News 6.
For more than five years now, our digital signal, including High Definition programming has been available to viewers in our broadcast area, over the air and free of charge. Many people with HDTVs or HDTV compatible sets have chosen to purchase HDTV converter boxes from an electronics or video retailer and receive the high definition programming in this manner.
In late 2003, Comcast Cable began offering their subscribers here another way to receive selective digital programming, including certain HD products. They approached KOIN and asked us to give them our HD signal, which they in turn would make available to their paying customers. We explained to Comcast that the station and our parent company, Emmis Communications, invested more than $4,000,000 to build a state of the art, full power digital facility. The digital signal, including HD is available free over the air, and if Comcast wanted to use this "signal resource" to add to their business plan for the cable company’s growth, KOIN should be fairly compensated. Comcast has maintained a position that they will not pay us for this signal because we’re a broadcaster.
We think that position is unfair and should be changed. Comcast already pays for much of their programming. We don’t understand why they should expect to get our programming for free, re-package it how they choose, sell it and keep all of the revenue. We simply want to participate in a business model Comcast already uses and share in the economic benefit they receive from our investment in HDTV.
At the present time, we are engaged in discussions with Comcast Cable regarding their request to retransmit KOIN’s HD signal and make it available to their subscribers. I’m hopeful we will arrive at a fair agreement, but I cannot at this time tell you precisely when that might occur. I would ask you to continue to communicate with both KOIN and Comcast and encourage both parties to work this matter out allowing you and others another choice of how you receive and enjoy HDTV.
Again, thank you for writing us.
Lee Wood
Director of Engineering
KOIN News 6
