• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, January 12, 2011

As the Sinclair station group continues to wrangle with Time Warner Cable about a payment plan, a new affiliation deal with the Fox network may impact how it approaches those negotiations.

Sinclair now has an agreement with Fox covering what it will pay the network to offer its programming through the end of 2012. With those costs fixed, Sinclair has more direction regarding its finances as it evaluates potential deal terms with Time Warner Cable.

Sinclair has been fighting Time Warner Cable about how much the cable operator will pay it to carry its stations, including many affiliated with Fox. The previous agreement has expired and been extended until Friday. The same extension holds vis-à-vis Sinclair's carriage deal with Bright House Networks.

The Sinclair-Fox affiliation deal was to expire in March 2012, but has been extended through the end of that year. It covers stations in Pittsburgh, Columbus and San Antonio.

If deals with Time Warner Cable and Bright House are not reached by Friday, blackouts could occur affecting more than 5 million homes, according to Sinclair.

Time Warner Cable, however, can continue to offer Fox programming to customers in affected markets on a dedicated feed for two hours a night, but would have to pay Fox a pretty penny for the rights. That could at least prevent millions from losing access to this weekend's NFL playoffs.