GCI subscribers may not be able to watch FOX and ABC next year

Some Alaskans who watch ABC, FOX, and the CW will have to find their programming elsewhere, after cable and Internet service provider GCI announced it would be dropping the stations in January.

Representatives with GCI said that the owners of LLC's Vision 1, Vision 2, and Coastal Television, which operate the three networks in the state, are demanding a 300 percent fee increase during renegotiation this year.

GCI's director of communications, Heather Handyside, called this kind of increase "ridiculous."

"We have to negotiate the lowest price so we can keep our cable packages affordable, and this 300 percent increase is just ridiculous. It's beyond the pale," Handyside said.

The company said that these types of increases usually range between 5 and 20 percent, which would be in stark contrast to 300.

Still, Handyside said there is still a possibility of reaching an agreement with ABC, FOX, and CW before a shut-off deadline.

"So we're negotiating as best as we can, we hope that we'll reach an agreement before the end of the year and definitely before January 15th to keep the channels online," said Handyside.

Representatives of Coastal Television, the local FOX, ABC, and CW carrier, declined KTUU's requests for comments on this story.