ViacomCBS said Tuesday that it has renewed its affiliation agreements with Nexstar Media Group, covering nine stations in markets including Las Vegas and Raleigh, N.C.
The pacts, which were scheduled to expire later this year, reach about 4 million TV households, or about 3.5% of the total U.S. audience. Coupled with an August affiliate renewal that covered 19 Nexstar stations in 15 markets and other prior renewals, ViacomCBS said it has long-term deals with all of Nexstar’s 49 CBS-affiliated stations.
Nexstar is the largest independent operator of CBS stations in the country. Nexstar’s CBS affiliates are also locally available to subscribers on CBS All Access, CBS’ digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, and distributed across cable and satellite television services as well as virtual multichannel video programming distributor platforms.
“We’re pleased to reach an early agreement with Nexstar that builds upon our longtime partnership and enables us to continue serving millions of households across the country,” said ViacomCBS president, U.S. Networks Distribution Ray Hopkins in a press release. “Together with Nexstar, we look forward to continue playing an important role in providing local communities with the trusted news and entertainment that audiences can rely on during these uncertain times.”
The stations involved in the most recent renewal are: WNCN-TV (Raleigh-Durham, N.C.); KLAS-TV (Las Vegas); KGPE-TV (Fresno-Visalia, Calif.); WYOU-TV (Wilkes Barre-Scranton, Pa.); KVEO-TV (Harlingen-Brownsville, Texas); WTAJ-TV (Johnstown-Altoona-St. College, Pa.); KXMC-TV (Minot-Bismarck-Dickinson, N.D.); WVNS-TV (Bluefield-Beckley-Oak Hill, W.Va.); and KREX-TV (Grand Junction-Montrose, Colo.)
“We are delighted to extend our affiliation agreement with ViacomCBS, our largest network partner and the nation’s #1 network,” Nexstar CEO Perry Sook said in a press release. “...Together, CBS and Nexstar deliver great entertainment and information to viewers and an excellent marketing platform for local and national advertisers. The agreement also provides further visibility to Nexstar’s distribution revenue growth following the completion of new multi-year retransmission consent agreements in the second half of 2019 representing approximately 70% of our subscribers.”
