CBS 5 Phoenix and Suddenlink at odds over price

Suddenlink customers in Arizona may not have access to KPHO (CBS 5 Phoenix) for much longer if the channel’s owner, Meredith Corporation, won’t drop its asking price.

A Suddenlink media release says that the cable company, which serves the Parker area, is trying to negotiate a new contract with Meredith Corporation, which owns KPHO, but they are at odds over the 65 percent raise Meredith is asking for. If the negotiations fall through, Suddenlink customers would no longer have access to the Phoenix CBS affiliate on channel 5.

Suddenlink describes the 65 percent raise Meredith is asking for as “not fair and not justified”, saying:

“If our customers are not getting a 65% raise, neither should Meredith and its stations. In the last two months we have completed new contracts with more than 60 other companies representing more than 100 other TV stations. They have not asked for increases on the scale that Meredith is demanding.”

Suddenlink is encouraging its customers to ask Meredith to extend its current contract with the cable provider until a new one can be signed, in order to avoid losing the channel from its lineup.