In a major about-face that signals a fresh retransmission consent deal — perhaps under pressure from key Massachusetts legislators on Capitol Hill — Comcast‘s Xfinity cable TV service will no longer be pulling the plug on stations from “neighboring DMAs” that would have seen all Hearst Television stations not bound by must-carry rules removed from its channel lineups.
It’s also signals a big victory for some small communities near Brunswick, Ga.
BE SURE TO ‘LIKE’ RBR+TVBR ON FACEBOOK!
The changes were set to arrive on December 22, and Comcast’s explanation to its subscribers was, “It’s our goal to provide you with the shows and movies you love at a fair price.”
This set up the full reason why a host of stations — all owned by Hearst — were being discontinued. “This is because the owner of the station from the neighboring market is insisting we pay additional fees to continue to carry their station in your area.”
The Xfinity parent then added, “That station offers much of the same content as the one in your local market.”
That was untrue: two small towns in Georgia’s Coastal Empire were poised to lose their only ABC channel, Hearst’s WJCL-22 in Savannah, Ga., which also serves Hilton Head, Beaufort and Bluffton, S.C.
Over 35 channels were to be removed from 31 different areas. But, according to TV Answer Man, a consumer blog, that’s no longer happening.
“We have come to an agreement with the owners of these stations that will allow us to offer them in the same manner as we have in the past,” a Comcast spokesperson told TV Answer Man on Tuesday. “As a result, these stations will remain on our channel lineup, and we are notifying customers about this update.”
An email notice sent to subscribers in the impacted markets, pointing to a link on an Xfinity.com support page, has been removed.
That notice did not disclose that Hearst Television was the lone company to be impacted by its now-called off decision.
The “neighboring DMAs” that would have been impacted are as follows:
| Area/ Channel Lineup | DMA | Channel Being Removed | Local Channel |
| Portales, NM | Amarillo | KOAT (ABC) | KVII |
| Tallapoosa, GA | Atlanta | WVTM (NBC) | WXIA |
| Twin City, GA | Augusta | WJCL (ABC) | WJBF |
| Wilmot, NH | Boston (Manchester) | WPTZ (NBC) | WBTS |
| Horse Cave, KY | Bowling Green | WLKY (CBS) | WNKY |
| Claremont, NH | Burlington-Plattsburgh | WCVB & WMUR (ABC) | WVNY |
| Colleton County, SC | Charleston, SC | WJCL (ABC) | WCIV |
| Chico/Oroville, CA | Chico-Redding | KCRA (NBC) | KNVN |
| Newberry, SC | Columbia, SC | WYFF (NBC) | WIS |
| Las Cruces, NM | El Paso (Las Cruces) | KOAT (ABC) | KVIA |
| Tell City, IN | Evansville | WLKY (CBS) | WEVV |
| Arcadia/Cape Haze, FL | Ft. Myers-Naples | WMOR (IND) | Not Available |
| Glades County, FL | Ft. Myers-Naples | WPBF (ABC) | WZVN |
| Alachua County/Levy County, FL | Gainesville | WESH (NBC) | WNBW |
| Harrisburg, PA Area | Harrisburg-Lncsr-Leb-York | WBAL (NBC) | WGAL |
| Norwich/New London, CT | Hartford & New Haven | WCVB (ABC) | WTNH |
| Connersville, Richmond, Lynn-Winchester, IN | Indianapolis | WLWT (NBC) | WTHR |
| Bedford, IN | Indianapolis | WLKY (CBS) | WTTV |
| Crescent City/Palatka, FL | Jacksonville | WESH (NBC) | WTLV |
| Nahunta/Waynesville, GA | Jacksonville | WJCL (ABC) | Not Available |
| Johnstown-Altoona Area | Johnstown-Altoona | WTAE (ABC) | WATM |
| Mount Vernon, GA (Wheeler Co) | Macon | WJCL (ABC) | WGXA |
| Coatesville, Kennett Square, & Reading/Hamburg, PA | Philadelphia | WGAL (NBC) | WCAU |
| Kent County, DE | Philadelphia | WBAL (NBC) | WCAU |
| Berwick/Eliot, ME | Portland-Auburn | WCVB & WMUR (ABC) | WMTW |
| Bristol County, MA | Providence-New Bedford | WCVB (ABC) | WLNE |
| Danville, Galax & Martinsville, VA | Roanoke-Lynchburg | WXII (NBC) | WSLS |
| Salisbury, MD Area | Salisbury | WBAL (NBC) | WRDE |
| Contra Costa/Solano County, CA | San Francisco-Oak-San Jose | KCRA (NBC) | KNTV |
| Santa Clara County, CA | San Francisco-Oak-San Jose | KSBW (NBC) | KNTV |
| Springfield, MA Area | Springfield-Holyoke | WCVB (ABC) | WGGB |
| Polk County-Citrus County, FL | Tampa-St. Pete (Sarasota) | WESH (NBC) | WFLA |
| Polk County, FL | Tampa-St. Pete (Sarasota) | WKCF (CW) | WTOG |
| Calvert & Frederick, MD – Winchester, VA | Washington, D.C. | WBAL (NBC) | WRC |
| Todd Township, PA – Washington County, MD | Washington, D.C. | WGAL (NBC) | WRC – available Dec 2 |
| Wheeling-Steubenville Area | Wheeling-Steubenville | WTAE (ABC) | WTRF |
| Pottsville/Hegins Township, PA | Wilkes Barre-Scranton | WGAL (NBC) | WBRE – available Dec 2 |
| East Liverpool, OH | Youngstown | WTAE (ABC) | WTRF |
Based on the above grid, replacement programming isn’t universally seen — beyond the ABC affiliate in tiny Nahunta and Waynesville, Ga. In the village of Arcadia, Fla., a largely agricultural community with a large prison nearby, WMOR would have faded to black as there is no direct equivalent in the Fort Myers, Fla., DMA.
The new deal also puts into question whether or not the rural areas of Todd Township, Pa. and Washington County, Md., will see Comcast subscribers now get NBC programming from WGAL and giant NBC O&O WRC-4 in Washington, D.C.; that station was poised to be added to local systems on Dec. 2.
Given the growth of the National Capital Area, this move may likely be warmly welcomed by subscribers.
Additionally, subscribers in Hegins Township and Pottsville, Pa., were set to transition from WGAL to WBRE-28, the Nexstar Media Group-owned NBC affiliate serving the Wilkes Barre-Scranton DMA — an area that has long had geographic ties to Pottsville.
The loss of WCVB-5 to viewers in Bristol County, Mass., was particularly upsetting to at least one customer who wrote to RBR+TVBR to express their dissatisfaction. Then came words of frustration from Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, who were joined by Reps. Joseph P. Kennedy III and William Keating in penning a letter to Comcast Chairman/CEO Brian Roberts and to Hearst President Jordan Wertlieb pleading that WCVB-5 in Boston not be removed from Xfinity in Bristol County, Mass.
The legislators referenced RBR+TVBR‘s Nov. 23 report in making its plea to Wertlieb and Roberts.
