Game Blackout Averted as Caple Dispute is Settled

For thousands of other people living without a way to watch their favorite television shows, they can finally be able to relax and tune in without having to reach for the rabbit ears.

And so can dozens of Eastern Iowa sports fans who were about to miss the entire Super Bowl this year.

Friday evening, Mediacom Communications Corp. and Sinclair Broadcast Group finally ended a weeks-long standoff that left 700,000 cable subscribers without local channels.

In an announcement released Friday evening, Mediacom said it had reached a deal with Sinclair that will see 22 television stations restored to Mediacom's system in 12 states that have been affected by the standoff. Among those stations were KDSM-TV in Des Moines, a Fox affiliate, and KGAN-TV in Cedar Rapids, a CBS (nyse: CBS - news - people ) affiliate. Both markets served by these stations were among the hardest hit by the dispute, since Iowa has the largest per capita of all major Mediacom service markets.

The agreement, which comes two days before Sunday's Super Bowl - which is set to be broadcast on CBS and would have been unavailable to thousands of Mediacom subscribers in eastern Iowa through their cable system - comes in time to avert a mass exodus of dozens of Eastern Iowa football fans out of their homes, just to watch the big game. The deal also comes just before the February sweeps period, which Mediacom cited as a crucial lynchpin for reaching a settlement. Indeed, Mediacom says Sinclair had lost more than 40 percent of its viewership on the dropped stations and that it would certainly want to return to normal before the ratings period begins.

Industry analysts had estimated that Mediacom was losing about 5,000 customers a week.

"We're thrilled to have the channels restored, and we're thrilled that our customers will be able to watch the Super Bowl this weekend," said Tom Larsen, vice president for legal affairs at Mediacom, based in Middletown, N.Y.

Mediacom said the Sinclair stations would be back on the air immediately.

The stations signals were cut off on Jan. 6 after the two companies failed to negotiate a new agreement that would permit Mediacom to carry the station signals.

Congress authorized television stations to negotiate with cable companies the right to retransmit their signals in the 1990s. Only recently have stations begun to insist on cash payments, however, and Sinclair has been among the most aggressive by carrying through with the threat to shut off station signals unless it was paid.

Industry analysts believe that such disagreements over cash payments could become more frequent as broadcasters hold out for money. Historically, cable systems have offered non-cash compensation to stations, which has included buying commercial time instead of paying cash.

Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.