/ 12.22.2010 12:00AM
Sinclair and Mediacom Reach Retrans Agreement
HUNT VALLEY, MD.: Sinclair Broadcast Group said today it entered
into a two-year retransmission consent agreement with Mediacom Communications
for the continued carriage of 22 TV stations in 16 markets.
“We are very happy with the outcome of the negotiations and wish to acknowledge
the professional and reasonable approach Mediacom took in these negotiations,
which led to a mutually acceptable deal with no threat of service interruption
to their subscribers,” said Barry Faber, executive vice president and general counsel
of Sinclair.
The agreement comes as Sinclair remains locked in a retrans stand-off with Time
Warner Cable, which has a deal with the Fox network by which it can bypass
local stations for up to a year. Sinclair’s contract with Timer Warner expires
Dec. 31. The broadcast group has 11 Fox affiliates among 33 stations in 21
cities at play with Time Warner.
Today’s announcement follows on a year-long agreement reached between Sinclair
and Mediacom last January, after much haggling.-- Deborah D. McAdams