Hearst Television granted a third extension in its retransmission consent negotiations with DirecTV Friday, pushing the deadline to reach a deal to 5 p.m. Eastern Time.
Hearst TV, which has about 34 stations across the country, had previously extended its agreement to Thursday at 3 p.m. and again to Friday at 3 p.m. in hopes that a deal could be reached. While that latter deadline was missed, talks must be progressing for a third extension to be granted. The deal was originally scheduled to expire at midnight on Dec. 31.
“While we hope to conclude our negotiations before January 3rd, so as not to deprive any of our respective viewers and customers of our programming, we want to advise our viewers and customers that the possibility of non-renewal of our current agreement exists,” Hearst said on its station websites.
