news-record.com

HIGH POINT (MCT) — A looming deadline between the sports broadcasting giant ESPN and the cable conglomerate Time Warner couldn't come at a more nerve-racking time for football fans.

The current contract between ESPN and Time Warner will expire Sept. 2, just as the fall football season gears up locally and across the nation. If no new contract is in place, ESPN channels could drop off Time Warner's lineup as football games begin.

Sept. 2 is the kickoff night for a slate of college football games on ESPN. The first weekend of September rolls out the college football season in earnest.

The contract between ESPN and Time Warner would expire a week and a half before the first full weekend of this year's National Football League season. ESPN has the rights to carry Monday night NFL games.

Negotiations between cable companies and networks usually center around how much money a cable company is willing to pay a network to carry its programming.

Time Warner has neared deadlines to negotiate new contracts with networks in the past. Rarely does the deadline pass and disrupt service to customers.

Still, the possibility of a cutoff of ESPN service on Time Warner has drawn the attention of TV viewers and other television service providers. Competitors of Time Warner are marketing their services in the Triad this month, trying to take advantage of the unfulfilled negotiations between the cable company and ESPN and convince customers to switch TV service providers before Sept. 2.

Time Warner issued a statement saying that negotiations with ESPN are well under way.

''Just like other distributors, Time Warner Cable negotiates with television networks all the time for the rights to air their programming. We successfully negotiate dozens of programming agreements every year with no service interruptions for our customers," the cable company indicates.

ESPN said in a statement that the network is working diligently to reach an agreement.

''The two companies have been negotiating for many months to reach agreement before that deadline. We understand your concern, and we are working with Time Warner Cable to reach agreement before Sept. 2," according to the ESPN statement.