As Sinclair Broadcast Group and Mediacom dispute over the proper price of carrying KDSM’s programming on cable television, ISU students are wondering what they will have to do to watch their favorite Fox programs.

Sinclair has stated that if Mediacom doesn’t reach an agreement with Sinclair by midnight on Nov. 30, KDSM will be pulled from Mediacom. As the end of November looms closer, Barry Faber, vice president and general counsel for Sinclair, said that he sees little chance of Mediacom and Sinclair coming to a consensus.

“Based on where the parties are, and based on the fact that they are suing us and filing complaints with the FCC, I am not optimistic,” Faber said.

In mid-October, Mediacom accused Sinclair of breaking federal antitrust law.

“In order to get the rights to carry two larger stations in Iowa, Mediacom would be forced to take 22 other stations, most of which are in other states around the country,” said Phyllis Peters, Mediacom spokeswoman.

Faber said Sinclair has broken no laws, and this sort of negotiation takes place all the time.

“In this case, the buyer and the seller simply don’t agree on the price of the product, and that happens every day,” Faber said.

If a customer is looking for alternatives to getting KDSM from Mediacom, Faber recommends looking into satellite TV.

“We recognize that there is some inconvenience to switching to satellite,” Faber said.

“We are offering a rebate for people who sign up with DirecTV by Dec. 1 of $150. The rebate comes in the form of a $10 rebate each month for 15 months.”

Pete Englin, director of the Department of Residence, said it is up to students to decide what they want from Mediacom.

“This [decision] is driven by what students want as amenities on campus, and in the past they have indicated that having cable was important. If they want the service and they feel that there is a reasonable expense for it, we’ll contract for it,” Englin said, “We work hand-in-glove with the students to make decisions.”

Englin said an increase in room rates could result from a higher-priced Mediacom, and the Department of Residence would investigate alternative means of bringing good programming to ISU students.

Michael Rausch, freshman in biology, said he would be willing to switch to satellite in order to continue receiving Fox.

“If they were offering it, I would definitely switch to satellite for Fox,” Rausch said.

Rausch indicated that keeping a more costly cable service from Mediacom would not be worth the economic strain that it would cause for students.

“I’d prefer not to have my tuition raise any higher than it is,” Rausch said.

Tate Rathje, freshman in political science, said he would rather have Mediacom drop KDSM and keep the price of cable where it is.

“I would be fine not having the station,” he said. “For me, it’s more important to not raise tuition.”

Rathje said he only watches KDSM when it is broadcasting ISU basketball.

Peters said Mediacom will broadcast the first seven home men’s basketball games and several home women’s basketball games on Mediacom Connections, channel 22. She said the ISU basketball games are just one of many local programs that Mediacom supports.

“If you look at our efforts to bring local telecasts of sporting events, public events or other things specific to Iowa and its communities, we do more local programming than KDSM does,” Peters said.