Bright House Drops Ft. Wayne Stations

As of tomorrow, Bright House cable subscribers in certain parts of Ft. Wayne won’t get the local stations WISE (NBC) and WPTA (ABC), reports Indiana’s Chronicle-Tribune. Bright House has decided that the stations’ network counterparts in Indianapolis–WTHR and WRTV–fill the region’s programming needs.

Buz Nesbit, Bright House’s president of Indiana operations, said earlier this month that the decision was based on ratings and is a result of broadcasters now seeking fees in order for companies like his to have the right to rebroadcast the stations.

He said it doesn’t make sense to carry stations in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne that often provide the same programming. “We looked at the ratings,” Nesbit said earlier. “The ratings were so small compared to the Indianapolis stations that it didn’t make sense to carry them.”

Granite owns WISE and Malara owns WPTA. Granite manages both. 

The only network with stations from both markets reaching Grant County is Fox, with WFFT Ft. Wayne and WXIN Indianapolis.

The paper also reports that Bright House has dropped LIN’s Univision station, WIIH Indianapolis, as the two could not agree on a retransmission contract.