Sinclair Broadcast Group’s 22 stations in Mediacom cable markets will stay on the MSO’s systems. The two companies announced Thursday that they had come to terms on a retransmission consent agreement. The previous agreement had been due to expire December 31st, but was extended to Friday, January 8th, as talks continued.
The new retrans deal, however, is only for a single year, not the usual period of three or more years. Mediacom has also agreed to drop its FCC complaint against Sinclair arguing that Sinclair had not negotiated in good faith.
“We are very happy with the outcome of the negotiations which includes an acceptable economic arrangement. We are pleased that our viewers and Mediacom’s customers will continue to receive the important and popular programming carried on our stations such as the local news, sports, and network shows as ‘CSI,’ ‘American Idol’ and ‘24’,” said Sinclair CEO David Smith.
Mediacom had even less to say about the deal, announcing simply that it had reached a 12-month agreement with Sinclair to keep the 22 stations on its cable systems in 15 markets.
RBR-TVBR observation: As NAB President Gordon Smith noted the other day, the marketplace works when it comes to retransmission consent negotiations. There is no need for Congress or the FCC to try to fix something that ain’t broken.
