It’s not news that a major television station outsources part of its programming, but how about its entire sports department? That may happen at KCTV5 in Kansas City, MO, where the plan is to replace the sports department with sports programming produced by Time Warner Cable.
KCTV viewers would continue to see a sports segment during the evening newscast. However, instead of originating from the KCTV studios in Fairway, KS, the sports would be fed to the station via a fiber-optic cable from the Time Warner’s Metro Sports studio, near Swope Park.
This could be the start of a new trend if viewers allow station owners get away with it and if stations end up saving money. Time Warner, the country's second-largest cable operator, will watch the Kansas City experiment closely to see whether it can be duplicated in other markets in which it owns large systems, such as upstate New York and Houston.
The agreement, awaiting final approval by Time Warner Cable, tentatively takes effect Feb. 2, 2004 — the day after Super Bowl XXXVIII. Metro Sports would produce all of KCTV’s sports programming, including Kansas City Chiefs shows, sports specials and live coverage of breaking sports news.
For more information visit www.timewarnercable.com and www.kctv5.com.