Just four days after Charter Communications — parent of the Spectrum MVPD — completed its merger with Cox Communications and merger with Liberty Broadband Corp., the cable and internet services giant led by President/CEO Chris Winfrey sued one of the nation’s largest broadcast TV ownership groups over one of the most contentious topics the industry faces today: retransmission consent accords.
With a jury demand and a complaint for declaratory relief, The E.W. Scripps Co. was sued in U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada on Monday (8/24), with the case assigned to Judge Miranda M. Du and Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe.
News of the legal tussle was first reported by Cablefax on Wednesday. It sees Charter and Spectrum Management Holding Company LLC — represented by Judson Brown of Kirkland & Ellis’ Washington, D.C., office and attorneys from Las Vegas-based Pisanelli Bice — seek a declaratory judgment confirming its right to receive and retransmit KMCC-DT “The Spot Vegas 34” in Laughlin, Nev., under a retransmission agreement Charter says is currently in place between Spectrum and Scripps.
It dates to January 29, 2016, and was negotiated between Scripps — which also owns ABC affiliate KTNV-13 in Las Vegas — and the former Time Warner Cable, which Charter acquired and absorbed into Spectrum MVPD services. The agreement was amended three times, most recently in Spring 2025.
Then came the merger of Cox Communications and Charter. With Charter gaining a big swath of Southern Nevada, it believes its existing retransmission accord with Scripps applies. Scripps disagrees, with Charter in the complaint referencing a “drafting mistake” in arguing that Charter does not “ha[ve] any contractual right or obligation” to carry KMCC after the Charter-Cox transaction.
KMCC is a property tied to Scripps’ “ION Television License LLC.” These stations are subject to a different retransmission agreement than KTNV. Thus, Scripps says, a retransmission agreement is needed between Scripps and Charter for Spectrum to carry KMCC.
That’s a big ask, and presents a major headache for local sports fans. The WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces call KMCC its flagship TV station. So does the NHL’s Las Vegas Golden Knights. Both teams are wildly popular and have recent championship wins. As such, access to games is critical for Scripps and approximately 108,000 Spectrum customers across the Las Vegas DMA.
For Scripps, a countersuit is being bandied about should Charter not cease transmissions of KMCC without a fresh deal. At the heart of its battle is what it believes is “fair value” for a station with two pro sports teams’ play-by-play, which was not on KMCC when the master carriage agreement with Charter was forged.
With many portions of the complaint redacted from public view, Charter also filed an executed retransmission consent agreement under seal.
KMCC-DT is a property that in 2009 became a Mega TV affiliate through an arrangement with Cranston Acquisition, its owner, and Spanish Broadcasting System. Cranston ended up in bankruptcy, and agreed to sell KMCC to Entravision Communications. In January 2020, Entravision spun KMCC to Ion Media, which was later acquired by Scripps.
In May 2023, it grabbed the television rights for the Golden Knights.
