LOS ANGELES — The Fox television network and Time Warner Cable announced an agreement in principle Friday on a programming deal that allows signals to continue for millions of cable subscribers.
Fox had threatened to force Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks to drop the Fox broadcast signal from 14 of its TV stations and half a dozen of its cable channels as a contract expired at midnight Thursday.
But signals were extended into Friday as talks continued, allowing more than 6 million cable subscribers in New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, Fla., and other markets to watch college football bowl games and other programming.
A statement from Fox and Time Warner Cable said the deal includes Bright House.
“We’re pleased that, after months of negotiations, we were able to reach a fair agreement with Time Warner Cable — one that recognizes the value of our programming,” said Chase Carey, deputy chairman at News Corp., which owns Fox.
The negotiations had left some college football fans wondering whether they would have access to the Sugar Bowl game between highly ranked Florida and Cincinnati.
Those worries are over, said Time Warner Cable Inc. chief executive Glenn Britt.
The statement did not give details on the agreement. Fox has said it wants to be paid $1 per cable subscriber each month for the broadcast signal it now gives away freely from the stations it owns. Other Fox affiliate stations that are owned by different companies have already cut deals to be paid by cable operators for a fraction of that fee.
