Time Warner Cable-Sinclair deal avoids TV blackout

New York, NY (AP) - After weeks in limbo, about 4 million of Time Warner Cable's customers will no longer have to worry about losing one of their network TV stations.

The company has reached a deal in principle with Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. over the fees it pays to carry Sinclair broadcast signals, including those from local affiliates of Fox, ABC and CBS.

Time Warner expects to complete a final deal within seven days. Without a deal, Time Warner would have had to drop Sinclair's stations from its channel lineups.

Time Warner says it would have replaced signals from Sinclair with feeds from nearby stations in other cities. Viewers would still have seen football games and shows such as "Glee." But the local news would have come from an out-of-town station.