Updated at 3:35pm Eastern
WOODBRIDGE, VA. — A particularly problematic situation in the Washington, D.C. market, involving the owner of CBS affiliate WUSA9 is once again engaged in difficult negotiations with a MVPD regarding a new retransmission consent agreement. Could this lead to a “blackout” of the station to paying customers of a regional competitor to Comcast?
That’s what some Washington Commanders fans and CBS viewers may be asking, as TEGNA is engaged in what pro-MVPD lobbying group American Television Alliance (ATVA) is calling an “upcoming potential blackout of Verizon customers by TEGNA.”
Naturally, that’s a biased statement, as both a broadcast TV station owner and a MVPD must agree on terms deemed fair by both parties for an agreement to be reached.
For Verizon Fios customers, it’s a refrain they’ve heard twice before since 2020. In January 2022, a three-day “blackout” was seen as the two parties couldn’t agree on a fresh retransmission consent accord. This impacted WUSA9 in addition to TEGNA’s WPMT “FOX 43” in Harrisburg-York-Lancaster, Pa.; ABC affiliate WVEC-13 in Norfolk; Buffalo-Niagara Falls-based NBC-affiliate WGRZ-2; and Connecticut’s home for The CW Network, WCCW-20 in Waterbury, Ct. However, Washington is by far the biggest DMA of concern, as Verizon FiOS has a small customer base in York, Pa.; Norfolk; Connecticut and Western New York.
As ATVA spokesperson Michelle Bowling sees it, there’s only one party in the wrong here. “TEGNA is once again demanding unreasonable price increases during their latest retransmission negotiation. They are threatening to blackout the channels of Verizon Fios customers in Washington, D.C., Buffalo, Harrisburg, and Norfolk. In Washington, D.C. alone, 400,000 subscribers to the CBS-affiliated WUSA-9 would be deprived of sports and entertainment programming as well as critical news coverage.”
The member communiqué featured a bevy of one-sided slings aimed at TEGNA.
Asked for comment, a TEGNA spokesperson tells RBR+TVBR, “We have been working with Verizon for months to reach a fair, market-based agreement, so we are surprised that they have begun telling their customers that they may lose access to our stations when our contract does not expire until November 12.”
The company representative added, “While Verizon is focused on its Frontier acquisition, subscribers may lose access to the local news, weather, programs and live sports they pay for. We intend to continue to work with Verizon and hope to reach a deal without any disruption.”
