Central Oregon cable TV providers began issuing warnings Wednesday that customers could lose some of their favorite AMC Networks shows like “The Walking Dead” on Jan. 1 because of a contract dispute.

In what has become an almost annual ritual, BendBroadband and, this year, Crestview Cable Communications issued news releases Wednesday stating they may have to drop three of AMC’s five channels — AMC, We tv and BBC America — because of the network’s demand for higher rates.

BendBroadband, with customers in Bend, Redmond, Sisters, Sunriver and other areas of Deschutes County, offers an additional AMC channel, IFC, which airs “Portlandia” and other shows. It would also be dropped if an agreement cannot be reached in the dispute.

Both cable companies say AMC Networks wants them to pay more money and also take additional channels they have not requested, according to their news releases.

BendBroadband said AMC Networks wants a 350 percent rate increase and a 10-year contract instead of the usual three to five years.

“We are fully prepared to pay a fair price for the AMC programming our customers want,” Kristi Ramsey, director of content management for TDS Telecommunications, BendBroadband’s parent company, said in the news release. “But when huge companies like AMC Networks demand an unprecedented increase in its monthly fees, we believe it’s our responsibility to take a stand for our customers.”

If an agreement cannot be reached by Dec. 31, BendBroadband plans to help customers find their favorite shows via Amazon, iTunes, Google Play and even AMC’s own website, according to the news release.

Contract disputes between cable companies and networks have become more frequent over the past decade.

Similar issues prompted BendBroadband to warn customers in 2008, 2009 and 2011 about the possible loss of programming from Fox, MTV Networks and KTVZ, Bend’s NBC affiliate, respectively.

Crestview Cable, which serves areas around Crooked River Ranch, La Pine, Madras and Prineville, said in its news release that AMC wants a 400 percent increase. It called them “excessive demands.”

Neither BendBroadband nor Crestview Cable negotiates directly with AMC Networks. Both belong to the National Cable Television Cooperative, which handles negotiations for more than 850 cable companies across the nation, according to its website. It said the amount of increase requested may vary by provider and community.

The news releases from BendBroadband and Crestview Cable both refer readers to www.tvonmyside.com, a website created by cable cooperative members. It calls out AMC Networks because “it aims to needlessly panic customers” about the loss of their favorite shows by asking viewers to contact their cable companies and complain. The website also mentions similar contract disputes AMC had with Dish Network and Verizon Communications in 2012 and DirecTV in 2014.

However, AMC Networks has produced some of the most popular TV shows of the past decade: “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead.”

The network would not comment directly on negotiations Wednesday. Instead, it issued a statement:

“We have extraordinarily high regard for the (National Cable Television Cooperative) and for its members,” the statement read. “We have long supported smaller cable operators, and the particular challenges and considerations that they face in the service of their markets. We will continue to endeavor to do everything we can to make them successful.”

Separately, Crestview Cable customers in Crooked River Ranch, Madras and Prineville could also lose programming from KGW, the NBC affiliate in Portland, and its sister network, Northwest Cable News, on Jan. 1 because of contract negotiations. La Pine-area customers would also lose Northwest Cable News, but they do not receive KGW, according to the news release from Mike O’Herron, Crestview general manager.

Crestview also carries KTVZ in all areas, the news release stated, so if the company drops KGW, customers could still get NBC network programming from the Bend station.

A KGW representative referred questions to the station’s parent company, Tegna Inc., based in McLean, Virginia. Its corporate communication official could not be reached for comment.

— Reporter: 541-383-0360,

tdoran@bendbulletin.com