Buckeye Cablevision Inc. filed a lawsuit Thursday against WUPW-TV, Channel 36, its owner Amercan Spirit Media, and Raycom Media, which owns WTOL-TV, Channel 11.
The lawsuit, filed in the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, stems from a disagreement over whether Buckeye should pay more to broadcast WUPW, which carries Fox network programming. A contract between Buckeye and WUPW expired May 21, and Buckeye has been transmitting WUPW programs under a temporary agreement since then.
Buckeye Cablevision is the legal name of the company that operates Buckeye CableSystem.
The Federal Communications Commission approved WUPW's acquisition by American Spirit Media from LIN Media in March. As part of the $22 million deal, the station entered into a shared-services agreement with Raycom. The agreement allows WUPW and WTOL -- a CBS affiliate -- to share news staff. It also permits shared access to studios, technical facilities, maintenance, and promotional efforts.
That shared-services agreement is the crux of the lawsuit.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare that WTOL and WUPW are separate entities, and that Buckeye Cablevision's contract with Raycom does not mean that it must pay the same fee to broadcast WUPW's signal as it does to broadcast WTOL. It also asks that American Spirit Media negotiate directly with Buckeye concerning WUPW.
"Buckeye has gone to court to resolve the issue of whether WUPW is covered by the Buckeye/WTOL retransmission consent agreement with WTOL's owner, Raycom," Buckeye's Toledo lawyer, Keith Wilkowski, said in a statement. "Buckeye believes WUPW is not covered by that agreement."
Buckeye could pay substantially more to broadcast WUPW if the court sides with Raycom and American Spirit Media. That amount was not disclosed by Mr. Wilkowski and was not included in the court documents.
"The amount Buckeye agreed to pay WTOL for retransmission consent is based on the high audience ratings of WTOL," Mr. Wilkowski said. "WUPW's ratings are not that high, and so value to Buckeye's customers is less."
Thomas Henson, head of American Spirit Media, did not return a call seeking comment. Bob Chirdon, station manager for WTOL, declined comment. Representatives from Raycom and WUPW did not return messages.
Mr. Wilkowski said Buckeye would continue to carry the Fox-affiliated station under a temporary agreement and no date had been set for the court case.
"We have asked that the case be assigned to the special commercial docket the court has established for these kinds of business disputes in hopes of achieving a prompt and fair resolution," he said.
Buckeye CableSystem is owned by Block Communications Inc., which also owns The Blade.
Contact Kris Turner at: kturner@theblade.com or 419-724-6103.
First Published June 1, 2012, 4:00 a.m.
