By John Howell
Batesville alderman Eddie Nabors again prompted his colleagues to ask Cableone to add a CBS affiliate to its lineup to replace Memphis Channel 3.

Cableone dropped the Memphis CBS affiliate in early January after negotiations with station owner Tribune Media resulted in a standoff.

At the Feb. 3 meeting Nabors asked for the letter to request that Cableone find another CBS affiliate to include in its local lineup.

“I’d like to send a certified letter,” Nabors said again at Tuesday’s meeting, “and ask them to explain the current situation with a CBS affiliate and ask if they are making negotiations with any other access to CBS,” Nabors said.

“You know, I talked to her (the Cableone representative) about that,” Mayor Jerry Autrey said. “She said they had a 50-mile limit and it was against the law for them to try to go to Jackson to try to get that affiliate, that that was a state law.”

“I’d like for her to respond in writing,” Nabors said. “I hadn’t measured from here to Memphis, but it’s further than 50 miles.”

“Invite her to come here; let her come here and we can ask her,” Alderman Stan Harrison said.
Nabors said that he wanted to know what other towns served by Cableone are not getting WREG-TV.

“Is Batesville the only city that’s being excluded from the CBS contract?” Nabors asked.