reached a distribution agreement to stave off a New Year’s Day blackout of the broadcasting group’s channels on Fios TV in five markets.Hearst TV was demanding price hikes of more than 45% to carry the local channelsThe agreement covers nine Hearst-owned channels in Verizon’s Fios TV footprint: WCVB in Boston, WMUR in Manchester, N.H., WGAL in Harrisburg, Pa., WBAL in Baltimore, and WTAE in Pittsburgh.
Nationwide, Hearst Television owns and operates 33 TV and two radio stations serving 26 media markets across 39 states reaching over 21 million U.S. television households. According to the American Television Alliance, a trade group representing cable, satellite and telco TV providers, broadcasters during the COVID-19 pandemic have continued to use blackouts or the threat of blackouts “as a bargaining chip against consumers while negotiating retransmission consent fees.”