LEWISTON – Negotiators for Time Warner have requested a two-week extension to nail down the details of a contract that will keep CBS programs beaming into local homes.

The existing contract between cable provider Time Warner and Sinclair Broadcasting, the parent company of WGME/Channel 13, expires at midnight New Year’s Eve. If the parties don’t agree to an extension, or a new contract by New Year’s Day, Time Warner subscribers will have to seek other ways to view CBS shows.

“Negotiations have been going along fairly well,” said Peter DeWitt, spokesman for the cable company. “We’re hopeful.”

As of 5 p.m. he hadn’t heard from Sinclair about the extension request. A call placed to Sinclair seeking comment by the Sun Journal wasn’t returned by early Friday evening.

The negotiations center around how Time Warner will compensate Sinclair for rebroadcasting its signal to their cable subscribers. The decision affects approximately 180,000 subscribers in Maine, about two-thirds of whom can pick up CBS from other affiliates. But the remaining 60,000 or so customers in Lewiston-Auburn and Windham area are out of range.

“We apologize for the anxiety this is creating,” said DeWitt. “We certainly have heard from our customers about this, and we hope to share good news with them soon.”

The network is scheduled to carry NFL playoff games and the Super Bowl, as well as popular shows such as the “CSI” series and “Late Show with David Letterman.”

Just in case the news isn’t good, the city of Lewiston is preparing a Web page describing alternative ways people can receive CBS programs. Options include satellite television, Oxford Networks cable and good old-fashioned rabbit ears. Time Warner will make free rabbit ears available to its customers in the event an agreement isn’t reached.

“I guess that’s the good news in all of this … there are options,” said Phil Nadeau, deputy city administrator. He hopes to have the Web information posted at www.ci.lewiston.me.us by the end of the day Jan. 2, if it’s needed.

Some local Time Warner subscribers aren’t waiting until the last minute. A few local electronics retailers and discount stores have seen a spike in the sales of rabbit ears, indoor antennae that improve reception of network television stations. The rabbit ears sell for $10-$40.

Matt Jancovic, Oxford Networks marketing director, said the local communications company has seen an uptick in new accounts, but he can’t say for sure that it’s former Time Warner customers switching over.

“We have had an increase in activity, but we normally see a spike this time of year anyway,” he said. “We have some pretty good promotions going on.”

Nadeau hopes the whole situation is resolved without Channel 13 going black. Time Warner pays the city about $160,000 a year for its cable contract, on which there are two more years. He fears similar stalemates might occur when WCSH and WMTW renegotiate their contracts with Time Warner.

“We’ve never been confronted with losing a local channel before,” he said. “They’re all important, they all have local viewers.

“I hate to think about it …”