Suit by Buckeye moved to Toledo federal court

A lawsuit filed late last month by Buckeye Cablevision Inc. against WUPW-TV, Channel 36; its owner, American Spirit Media, and Raycom Media, which owns WTOL-TV, Channel 11, has been moved to U.S. District Court in Toledo.

A joint notice of removal from Lucas County Common Pleas Court was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court. Along with the notice was the 25-page complaint first filed May 30 in common pleas court.

The lawsuit stems from a disagreement over whether Buckeye should pay more to broadcast WUPW, which carries Fox network programming. A contract between Buckeye and WUPW expired May 21, and Buckeye has been transmitting WUPW programs under a temporary agreement since then.

The lawsuit asks the court to declare that WTOL and WUPW are separate entities and that Buckeye Cablevision's contract with Raycom does not mean it must pay the same fee to broadcast WUPW's signal as it does to broadcast WTOL. It also asks that American Spirit Media negotiate directly with Buckeye on WUPW.

The case has not yet been assigned a federal judge.

Buckeye CableSystem is owned by Block Communications Inc., which also owns The Blade.