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UPDATE: Cox Communications and Hearst have reached a deal, and KOCO is back on the air in Oklahoma City. Crisis averted!
It looks like many OU fans may end up having an issue viewing Saturday’s game and may need to make some new arrangements.
Hearst Television Inc., the parent company of Oklahoma City ABC affiliate KOCO 5, and Cox Communications are currently at odds, according to the latest release from KOCO. At this time ABC/KOCO is not available to Cox customers in Oklahoma City. The station is scheduled to televise this Saturday’s game between the No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners and No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, so this is beginning to cause a bit of a stir to say the least.
Cox doesn't have ABC? Time to get the roku and use PlayStation vue!
— Tanner Brodess (@Tannerbrodess) September 6, 2017
KOCO/ABC isn't showing up on cox bc they want more money.. BUT THEY ARE THE ONES SHOWING THE BIG GAME ON SATURDAY. GET YOUR CRAP TOGETHER pic.twitter.com/svvd4cTF2B
— Rae Thorpe (@RaeThorpe) September 6, 2017
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For those of you who are not from the area, Cox is the major cable provider of the Oklahoma City area. If Saturday’s game ends up being unavailable on Cox, it’s going to cause some issues. If you live in the OKC area and Cox happens to be your provider (basically anyone in OKC who isn’t a satellite customer or a cord-cutter), it would probably be a good idea to make some other arrangements or make sure you have an antenna for the game just to be safe.
If I were a betting man (I am), I’d say that this is likely resolved by game time. I don’t think either entity can afford a PR disaster of that magnitude, so HOPEFULLY Cox customers will be able to watch the game at home without an antenna. But like I said, a backup plan would probably be wise.