By By Janet Little Cooper
The only Pensacola-based TV news program remains in the dark for Mediacom subscribers in Atmore.
The ABC affiliate, WEARTV 3, was pulled from Mediacom's airwaves one week ago after the stations owner Sinclair Broadcasting and Medicom could not come to an agreement.
The two media companies were in disputes over the ABC affiliates insistence that Mediacom pay for the right to broadcast WEAR and its ABC network programming.
Originally, Mediacom's right to broadcast WEAR expired on Nov. 31, but the two companies agreed on an extension to pursue further negotiations. That extension fell on deaf ears as Channel 3 went black Jan. 5 for subscribers in Atmore as well as numerous other areas.
Local viewers are not the only ones being affected by the week long blackout, Mediacom customers in Santa Rosa, Pensacola Beach, and parts of Baldwin, and Mobile counties have also missed out on the new episodes of Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy.
While WEAR has been taken off the Mediacom line up and been replaced with Starz Kids and Family, a network similar to the Disney Channel, the two parties could possibly reach a deal at anytime, restoring WEAR and it's ABC national programming to local viewers.
In the meantime, WEAR is offering to help Mediacom subscribers make the switch to another cable provider, Direct TV by offering $100 to have it installed. Dish Network is another provider that carries WEAR and is offered through the local phone provider, Frontier Communications.
Mediacom is also offering its effected customers a set of free rabbit ears that will enable them to pick up Channel 3 through open-air broadcast.