While retransmission fee disputes have been the darkest cloud over the broadcast TV industry in the latter half of the 2010s, affiliation agreements have been inked and extended with relative ease — with, perhaps, a mild hiccup here and there.
Ed Ansin‘s Sunbeam Television has been one of the most visible of the companies to lose affiliations, with his WHDH-7 in Boston losing its NBC affiliation two years ago in favor of a new O&O arrangement nearly 30 years after NBC programming left his WSVN-7 in Miami.
Otherwise, big affiliation switches were last seen in on a major scale in 1995, in Baltimore, Boston and Philadelphia.
Twenty-four years later, the stability among broadcast TV network affiliates continues, as TEGNA has entered into “a comprehensive, multi-year deal” with the ABC television network.
The deal covers all nine ABC-affiliated stations that TEGNA owns, representing 7% of ABC’s national coverage and some 8 million households.
- WFAA in Dallas
- KXTV in Sacramento
- KVUE in Austin
- WVEC in Norfolk
- WZZM in Grand Rapids
- WJXX in Jacksonville
- WHAS in Louisville
- KIII in Corpus Christi, Tex.
- KBMT in Beaumont, Tex.
“We are excited to extend our long-standing relationship with ABC across platforms,” said TEGNA President/CEO Dave Lougee. “This long-term agreement adds certainty and stability for our stations as they continue to provide their communities with valuable, must-have and multi-platform local and network content.”
Terms were not disclosed.
“We value the collaboration we have with TEGNA to reach viewers in key markets across the country,” said John Rouse, EVP of Affiliate Relations and Marketing for the ABC Television Network. “We are very pleased to extend our agreement and look forward to building on our strong relationship in the years to come.”
