Hawaiian Telcom to carry stations until Jan. 8

Hawaiian Telcom and Raycom Media, owner of Hawaii News Now, have agreed to extend their current contract, eliminating a potential blackout until Jan. 8.

The pay-TV provider recently notified its roughly 34,000 TV subscribers on Oahu that if a new agreement or extension was not reached by midnight today, it would be forced to pull channels KGMB (CBS) and KHNL (NBC) off the air on Friday.

The extension runs until midnight on Jan. 7.

TV providers pay retransmission consent fees to broadcasters to carry their signals.

The American Cable Association, which represents nearly 750 small and midsize cable operators nationwide, said that over the past 10 years retransmission fees have soared to $6.3 billion in 2015 from $28 million in 2005. Industry analysts project U.S. TV station retransmission fees will reach between $10 billion and $12 billion by 2021.

Ultimately, the costs will be passed on to consumers, industry analysts say.

Rules governing retransmission consent fees, part of the 1992 Cable Act designed to ensure the availability of local news and information, were enacted when major networks dominated TV.

———

Star-Advertiser staff