Fox and Time Warner Cable extended their contract for a few hours, avoiding a threatened blackout of several
stations from the cable provider while the two sides tried early Friday to resolve a disagreement over fees.

Time Warner Cable Inc. made the announcement as the clock rolled past midnight Thursday on the East Coast. In a brief statement at 5:30 a.m. Friday, Scott Grogin, Fox senior vice president for communications, said "we are still negotiating."

The extension for a few hours made it appear likely that at the very least a further extension would be granted, allowing millions
of cable subscribers access to Friday's Sugar Bowl between the Florida Gators and the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Fox had threatened to pull the signal from 14 TV stations it owns, a move that would have affected more than 6 million customers
of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks in New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, Fla., and other markets.

Fox has said it needs subscription revenue to supplement the advertising revenues that have supported its broadcast network up
until now.