Northwest Broadcasting Reaches AT&T Deal, Ending Blackout

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Northwest Broadcasting said that it reached a new long-term carriage agreement with AT&T that will return its stations to the DirecTV lineup, ending a blackout that lasted nearly eight months.

The retransmission consent fee dispute affected Northwest’s 18 stations in 10 markets.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“Northwest regrets the inconvenience this has placed on our valued viewers,” Northwest said in a message on the website of its station KAYU-TV, the Fox affiliate in Spokane.

In August, AT&T reached an agreement ending a two-month blackout of Nexstar stations. An impasse with CBS and its station ended Aug. 8.

Sinclair last month warned viewers that its deal with AT&T was expiring and that a blackout was possible, but the two sides appear to be negotiating and the stations remain on DirecTV and other AT&T outlets.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.