Wireless digital TV provider WOW has moved to “distance itself” from a long-running dispute that could see Bermuda CableVision dump ZBM/CBS and ZFB/ABC from its line-up by the end of the year because it doesn’t want to pay Bermuda Broadcasting to include the channels.WOW said it planned to continue to carry ZBM, ZFB and VSB/NBC at no additional cost, and would not be moving the local channels up a tier to justify any access changes.President and CEO of WOW, Stanley Wright, told The Royal Gazette yesterday his company had agreed to pay Bermuda Broadcasting for the channels.WOW weighed in as the Government and the Telecommunications Commission still have made no decision in Cablevision’s controversial bid to remove ZBM/CBS and ZFB/ABC from their line-up. If the channels were dropped, CableVision subscribers who wanted to watch channels 7 and 9 would have to do so by using an antenna.CableVision had said it expected to drop the channels the first of this month. It had expected the Commission to have submitted its report to the Minister earlier this month and a decision announced soon after on when it could drop the channels.CableVision has said it can drop the channels under the current legislation, it is just a matter of when.A Department of Telecommunications spokesperson said yesterday: “The Telecommunications Commission is currently dealing with this matter. Once it has been completed, the public will be notified.”CableVision has stated that its customers should not have to pay for channels they can get for free through a TV antennae.Local channels have historically been included in CableVision’s service under “must carry” rules and it was not charged for including them. New legislation introduced three years ago allowed local broadcasters to choose between “must carry” and “retransmission consent”. If a local broadcaster elected “retransmission consent” CableVision could only carry the channels if it paid licence fees, a cost which CableVision would then pass on to customers.CableVision general manager Terry Roberson said in early August:: “Our primary concern is our customers. Why should our customers pay for a service that is provided free to non-cable customers who use an antenna? We believe that this amounts to a ‘cable broadcast tax’.”Bermuda Broadcasting has said it’s planning to switch over to digital before the end of 2011 in any event, making ZBM and ZFB available in digital for free without a cable subscription.CEO Rick Richardson has accused CableVision of an attempt to acquire popular ABC and CBS programming (which BBC has exclusive rights to) by another signal.The ongoing dispute this week prompted WOW to take out advertisements saying it wanted to distance itself from the controversy.“We have had customers question us as to what our plans are and we just wanted to get out there that we have nothing to do with this dispute,” said Stanley Wright, president and CEO of WOW.The WOW ads stated: “The fostering and support of local broadcasters along with providing the best of international content to the highest standard and at the best possible price and customer service is at the core of our mission.”When the ZBM/ZFB transmitters were knocked out by lightning nearly a year ago WOW stepped in to offer the channels free as a public service to those without WOW or CableVision subscriptions.But Mr Wright said yesterday the company was now charging a small fee for the equipment rental to access its network and those channels; with Bermuda Broadcasting’s equipment appearing to still not be fully repaired. It appears only ZFB is available to people without cable subscriptions who use an antennae for local TV.Bermuda Broadcasting boss Rick Richardson declined to comment on when or even if the transmitters would be fixed.Mr Wright said WOW was preparing for imminent Telecoms sector regulatory reform and expected to be a significant player.“We want to grow more, we are a young company, but we are making progress,” he said. “We are starting to expand our product offering.”WOW has begun offering on-demand pay-per-view services, he said.The company employs nine people, operating from offices in the Washington Mall Phase 2. Mr Wright said the company is revamping its website and recently changed its logo.“We think reform is a good thing,” he said. “The only caution is we just hope in moving forward that the current economy and fact the size of the market is contracting has been taken into consideration... If we are not careful how reform is implemented it could benefit those that are the larger players in the market.”Bermuda Broadcasting, meanwhile, is said by industry sources to be preparing to launch GoMedia, having made application to Telecoms to offer programming to cars, portable DVD players, computers and other devices.Mr Richardson declined to comment on that either.