Privately-held media company Hearst Corp. announced Thursday it
has reached a retransmission consent agreement with DirecTV Group
Inc. (DTV), a contract that affects over two million DirecTV
customers.
The agreement allows DirecTV to continuing transmitting channels
owned by Hearst, which owns 29 TV stations, mostly ABC and NBC
affiliates in markets including Boston and Baltimore. The company
declined to disclose terms of the agreement. A representative from
DirecTV wasn't immediately available to comment.
Retranmission consent deals typically run in multiple year
increments, often three years or longer.
A handful of programming agreements are ending with 2010, most
notably Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc.'s (SBGI) contract with Time
Warner Cable Inc. (TWC). Those companies are locked in a dispute
that could result in programming disruptions on New Years Day for
about 5 million U.S. homes.
Disputes have become frequent in the TV industry as networks
fight for a larger share of pay-TV subscription revenue in a more
competitive marketplace, and distributors struggle to contain their
rising costs and maintain their profitability. Occasional channel
blackouts has resulted in scrutiny from lawmakers and
regulators.
-By John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2480;
john.kell@dowjones.com
-Nat Worden contributed to this article.