01:00 AM EST on Thursday, February 3, 2005

BY ANDY SMITH
Journal Television Writer

Say you just bought a state-of-the-art, high-definition TV. Naturally, you want to watch the Patriots play Sunday's Super Bowl in crisp, clear high-definition. But you won't be able to get it on Cox cable.

Just as you couldn't get last year's Super Bowl. Or last year's World Series. Or any other high-definition programming on either Channel 12 (WPRI), the local CBS affiliate, or Channel 64, (WNAC) Fox Providence. This year's Super Bowl is on Fox.

The reason is a long-standing squabble between Cox Communications and Providence-based LIN TV, which operates both Channel 12 and Fox Providence.

Cox is blaming LIN. LIN is blaming Cox.

Fans just want to see the game in high-def.

"I know who's being short-changed; it's the consumer," said Ed Ouellette of North Kingstown, who recently bought a high-definition TV.

High-definition is the highest quality of digital television, offering a signal with seven times the clarity of an old-fashioned analog TV.

"It's almost three-dimensional," Ouellette said. "We were watching a special about Anarctica -- it's like you're right there in the snow."

Jay Howell, general manager for Channel 12 and Fox Providence, said he's responded to "60 or 70" complaints from Cox customers since Jan. 1.

The number has grown from last year's Super Bowl, he said, as more people buy high-definition TVs.

(Customers of Comcast in southern Massachusetts can get the Super Bowl in high-definition from the Fox affiliate in Boston. Customers of Full Channel, which serves cable customers in Bristol, Warren and Barrington, will not get the game in high-def).

Cox offers high-definition programming from ABC on Channel 6, NBC on Channel 10, PBS station WGBH, ESPN, Discovery, HBO and Showtime. Local programming on Channels 6 and 10, such as news, does not yet air in high-definition.

"We have reached agreement with all the other broadcast stations in the area," said Cox spokesman John Wolfe. "It's up to LIN if they're going to allow us to carry their high-def signal."

LIN owns 28 stations in 17 markets. Paul Karpowicz, vice-president of television for LIN, said Providence and Norfolk, Va., are the two markets where there is a high-def standoff between his company and Cox.

There are several issues between Cox and LIN. The most obvious one is money.

Karpowicz said LIN's two Rhode Island stations have spent between $3 million and $4 million to provide a high-definition signal.

High-definition programming from CBS and Fox, he said, helps make Cox's cable high-definition service more attractive to consumers.

"We feel that if they are going to get something of value from us, we should get something of value in return," he said.

So LIN is now asking Cox to pay 2 cents a day -- one cent for Channel 12, one for Fox -- for each high-definition customer.

Cox began offering high-definition service to its customers in late 2003. In order to get high-definition cable service, customers must first subscribe to Cox's digital service.

Then, customers lease a box that receives a high-definition signal, for $9.99 a month, about $5 more than a standard digital box.

Cox spokesman Wolfe said the company does not pay "cash for carriage" when it comes to local broadcasters, although it does pay for a variety of other cable channels, such as ESPN.

Wolfe said the cable channels such as ESPN have not been granted licenses from the Federal government that call for them to broadcast their signal free.

He also points out that Cox reached agreements with Channel 6 (WLNE) and Channel 10 (WJAR) that do not involve Cox paying any cash.

Cox, Channel 6 and Channel 10 would not discuss the details of those agreements.

But Howell, the general manager for Channel 12 and Channel 64, said his stations are making their high-definition signals available for free over the air, and anyone with the right kind of equipment can get it.

"We are providing our signal for free to anyone who wants it. That's the most important thing to remember," he said.

High-definition TVs come in two basic configurations. The more expensive models have an HD receiver built into the set. With an antenna, those sets can receive an over-the-air, high-definition signal from Channel 12 or Channel 64.

Then there are less expensive sets called "HDTV ready," which require either a leased high-definition cable box or an external receiver. The receivers sell for between $200 and $400.

But spending more money does not sit well with some consumers who subscribe to Cox. "The answer that I should go out and do something else is not a good answer," Ouellette said.

Cox serves about 300,000 households in the state; about a third of those get digital cable. Cox will not say how many of those subscribe to its high-definition service.

There are some other issues involved in the high-definition faceoff, although LIN and Cox seem closer to agreement with those.

Stations are able to transmit more than one channel on their digital bandwidth. LIN wants Cox to agree to air whatever they ultimately decide to broadcast, while Cox does not want to make an open-ended commitment.

Karpowicz said LIN is open to negotiate with Cox if the cable company objects to anything LIN wants it to carry.

(Cox is broadcasting a local weather channel from Channel 12 as part of its digital service.)

LIN also owns a station in Puerto Rico, WAPA-America, which it is interested in getting into Cox's cable systems. But Karpowicz said LIN is backing off on WAPA, recognizing it is not appropriate for all of Cox's markets.

But LIN feels strongly it should receive compensation if Cox is to get its high-definition signals.

"I don't see anything in the near term that would bring us a lot of hope," Karpowicz said.

Some fans have suggested that Cox and LIN offer Patriots fans a one-time gift, air the Super Bowl in high-definition and then go back to the negotiating table.

Cox is willing. Wolfe, of Cox, pointed out that WFSB in Hartford did that last year.

Karpowicz said LIN has considered the option.

"We've thought about it. But doesn't that just let them off the hook? And then it puts people right back where we started," he said.

These disputes between broadcasters and cable or satellite companies are not restricted to LIN and Cox. The Wall Street Journal reports that EchoStar's Dish Network, the country's second-largest satellite operator, hasn't secured high-definition Super Bowl rights from Fox.

And in Roanoke, Va., Media General, which owns NBC affiliate WSLS, has been unable to reach an agreement with either Cox or Adelphia Communications that would allow the cable companies to carry NBC programming in high-definition.