Mediacom Communications customers could be without Nexstar Media Group stations in the New Year if the parties fail to renew a retransmission consent agreement that is set to expire on Dec. 31.
Mediacom has about 730,000 video subscribers across the country, many of whom are concentrated in the state of Iowa, where the upcoming Iowa Caucus could play a role in the talks. The Caucus is scheduled for Feb. 3 and is usually a wellspring of broadcast advertising dollars leading up to the actual vote. Any disruption in how viewers access broadcast stations could have an impact on ad revenue during that period.
According to sources familiar with both companies, the talks have slowed, especially as Nexstar also is negotiating a much larger retrans deal with Comcast that expires at around the same time.
Nexstar officials did not immediately return a request for comment.
