NBC programming is in danger of being dropped from the Spectrum cable TV lineup in Maine, according to a notice posted Thursday on the News Center Maine website.

The NBC affiliate, which operates WCSH Channel 6 in Portland and WLBZ Channel 2 in Bangor, said ongoing carriage agreement negotiations with the state’s largest cable TV provider have broken down. It urged viewers to contact Spectrum, the brand name for cable giant Charter Communications, and voice their support for an agreement.

“News Center Maine and Spectrum have agreed to a temporary extension to keep our stations on the air as negotiations continue on a new carriage agreement,” the notice states. “If a deal is not reached soon, Spectrum subscribers could lose access to News Center Maine.”

The affiliate said failure to reach an agreement would mean all of its NBC programming would be dropped from the Spectrum lineup, including popular shows such as “NFL Sunday Night Football,” “The Voice,” “This Is Us,” “Chicago P.D.,” and “Law & Order: SVU.”

News Center Maine, owned by Virginia-based media conglomerate Tegna Inc., said that for its programming to be carried by cable and satellite TV services, it signs agreements that involve the service providers paying the affiliate a negotiated fee. Tegna has multiyear agreements in place with all of Maine’s major TV providers except for Spectrum, it said.

“Over the past few years, we reached hundreds of multiyear deals with cable and satellite companies all across the country, including DirecTV, Comcast, Dish and many others,” the notice states. “It has been disappointing that Spectrum, so far, has refused to reach an agreement.”

Spectrum spokesman Andrew Russell responded to a request for comment via email, saying only, “We’re actively negotiating with Tegna and hope to reach an agreement soon.”

In January, a fee dispute led to a three-week standoff between Spectrum and Tribune Media. It was resolved when the two parties reached an agreement to restore retransmission of Tribune Broadcasting’s local television stations and carriage of the company’s cable entertainment network, WGN America, to Spectrum’s cable systems.

Locally, WGN carries shows such as “Last Man Standing,” “Blue Bloods” and “In the Heat of the Night.”


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