Comcast Says it Reaches Hearst TV Retrans Deal

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Agreement includes out-of-market stations previously expected to be dropped

Comcast
(Image credit: Comcast)

Comcast said it has quietly reached a retransmission consent agreement with Hearst TV stations across the country, including continued carriage of about 35 out-of-market stations in 38 markets that were originally expected to be dropped.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

The Hearst TV stations were set to expire on Dec. 31 and include affiliates of ABC, NBC, CBS, The CW and My Network TV. In addition, Comcast had expected to drop about 35 stations in 38 markets on Dec, 22 that were being offered to Comcast customers out of market. Now those channels will continue to be carried.

“We have come to an agreement with Hearst for the in-market stations and for the out-of-market stations – this agreement allows us to offer the out-of-market stations in the same manner as we have in the past,” Comcast said in an email message. “As a result, these stations will remain on our channel lineup, and we are notifying customers about this update.” 

Mike Farrell
Mike Farrell

Mike Farrell is senior content producer, finance for Multichannel News/B+C, covering finance, operations and M&A at cable operators and networks across the industry. He joined Multichannel News in September 1998 and has written about major deals and top players in the business ever since. He also writes the On The Money blog, offering deeper dives into a wide variety of topics including, retransmission consent, regional sports networks,and streaming video. In 2015 he won the Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Profile, an in-depth look at the Syfy Network’s Sharknado franchise and its impact on the industry.