Verizon Communications Inc. is adding to its lineup of TV programming for its Verizon FiOS TV fiber-to-the home-based video service, this time inking a multiyear retransmission-consent agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. to supply analog and digital signals for television stations in Baltimore and Tampa, Fla.
Under the agreement, Sinclair stations WTTA in Tampa and WBFF in Baltimore will ride the FiOS TV service. WTTA is a WB Television Network affiliate, while WBFF is a Fox outlet.
FiOS TV is Verizon’s answer to cable competition in video services. Already up and running in Keller, Texas, with multiple market launches planned, the FiOS TV service will deliver Internet-protocol-TV services, including HDTV channels and video-on-demand, to customers via a fiber-optic link.
“This agreement was made possible because Verizon recognized the value of being able to carry our signals, which allowed for an appropriate economic agreement to be reached,” Sinclair vice president and general counsel Barry Faber said in a release. “We look forward to helping Verizon as it moves forward with its new business venture and anticipate being able to enter into similar agreements for other stations as FiOS TV expands its footprint into other Sinclair markets.”
