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FAQs: Frontier Cable chooses to sever its business relationship with KIRO 7

ATTENTION FRONTIER CABLE CUSTOMERS. Frontier Cable has chosen to sever its business relationship with KIRO 7 and discontinue carriage of your local CBS station.  We regret that Frontier has made this choice, even after we have offered Frontier the opportunity to continue providing KIRO 7 to its customers.  If you would like more information about Frontier's decision to drop KIRO 7, please see our FAQs below.

1. What is happening?
By law, KIRO 7 must negotiate retransmission agreements with cable television companies like Frontier.  Usually, these deals are reached without any disruption to your service. In fact, our company has negotiated hundreds of agreements with only the rarest of disruptions.  Our existing agreement with Frontier expired thirteen months ago.  KIRO 7 has never been absent from a cable system for as long as Frontier has chosen to keep the station off.
Frontier has made a choice not to carry KIRO 7.  We have had discussions with Frontier, but so far they have refused to agree to the fair, market-based terms that every other cable and satellite provider in Seattle has agreed to.
2.  As a Frontier customer, what can I do to continue to watch my favorite shows on KIRO 7, including the big game on Sunday?
The big game on Sunday, February 3, is available on KIRO 7 free, over-the-air with an antenna.  The big game will also be livestreamed on several web sites and apps, including CBSSports.com, the CBS Sports App, and CBS All Access. *** Please refer to the supplemental document for additional viewing options***   
Otherwise, the best thing viewers can do is call Frontier at 1-800-921-8101.  Tell Frontier that you miss KIRO 7 and that you would like them to reach a fair deal with KIRO 7 to bring the station back to their cable system.  Viewers also can also tell Frontier to restore KIRO 7 through Frontier’s social media accounts (@FrontierCorp on Facebook, @frontiercorp on Instagram, and @FrontierCorp and @AskFrontier on Twitter).
3.  Why does KIRO 7 charge cable and satellite operators a fee to carry their programming? 
KIRO 7 historically has been among the highest rated channels on Frontier.  Frontier charges you a lot of money to watch cable television and it pays for all of the channels that it provides to you as part of your cable package.  KIRO 7 is asking only for terms that reflect the value that we bring to cable customers.
In addition, producing and broadcasting high rated, top-quality programming is very expensive.  We invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in our local news, weather, and emergency programming.  Without the fees from cable and satellite operators, this would not be possible.  KIRO 7 could not afford to broadcast The NFL on CBS, The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, 60 Minutes, and NCIS Los Angeles, as well as KIRO 7 News.
4.  What is a “fair” price for KIRO 7 programming and why is Frontier refusing to pay that price?
Fair prices are set by the market.  We have carriage agreements with every other major cable and satellite company that is carrying KIRO 7, including DirecTV and Comcast.  Frontier, however, insists that it should pay substantially lower rates than its competitors pay.  Giving Frontier a discount wouldn’t be fair to any other cable or satellite provider we deal with. 
5. What does Frontier pay for other channels?
Based on publicly available information, Frontier pays over $6 per subscriber per month for ESPN.  In other words, $6 from your monthly bill goes straight to ESPN.  Our ratings are much higher than ESPN’s!  Yet, we are asking for far less than what Frontier pays to ESPN.  More importantly, ESPN has NO local programming, NO local employees, NO local investments, and a small local audience – unlike KIRO 7.
6. Won't rates to subscribers go up if Frontier has to pay KIRO 7?
Whether rates go up depends on decisions made by Frontier. Like all cable and satellite companies, Frontier is already charging you to receive KIRO 7 as part of your monthly bill. Frontier should stop over-paying for channels its customers do not watch and re-allocate that money to the channels, like KIRO 7, that its subscribers turn to every day.  In any event, we do not control how much Frontier pays to other channels or how it manages its business.  We simply ask that Frontier pay a fair market price for our content, just as its competitors do; and we have and will continue to negotiate with Frontier in good faith in an effort to successfully complete a deal with them.
7. If Frontier stops carrying KIRO 7, will I get a refund on my bill?
It is up to Frontier to resolve such questions with its customers.  But, you could call Frontier at 1-800-921-8101 to demand a refund because Frontier dropped your favorite programming and you are no longer getting what you pay for.  
8. Is there anything the public can do to help make sure that KIRO 7 remains on Frontier?
The best way for you to encourage a resolution is to register your support of how important it is for Frontier to carry KIRO 7 by calling Frontier at 1-800-921-8101.  You pay Frontier a lot of money.  It will listen to your voices.  Or you can contact any number of other providers that are committed to providing you with the programming you watch every day:
Regardless, we will continue to work hard to try and get a successful outcome to this negotiation so that you have access to your favorite programming.  But the ball remains in Frontier’s court to step-up like all of their competitors and peers have done.
Frontier Contact Information
  • Phone Number:  (800) 921-8101
  • Twitter Handles:  @FrontierCorp and @AskFrontier
  • Facebook Profile:  @FrontierCorp
  • Instagram Handle:  @frontiercorp
  • Residential Customer Support Website:  https://frontier.com/contact-us#/residential

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