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Last-minute deal keeps Hearst stations on Verizon’s Fios

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59WZOsi_BSo

A last-minute deal between broadcaster Hearst Television and wireless company Verizon kept nearly a dozen local stations from being pulled off Verizon’s Fios TV systems along the eastern United States.

Last week, The Desk reported Hearst had threatened to remove nine local television stations from Fios TV due to an expiring contract that allows Verizon to distribute Hearst-owned channels to customers in exchange for paying Hearst a re-transmission consent fee.

Verizon accused Hearst of demanding a sizable fee increase, which it called “unacceptable” in a statement.

As is typical with carriage disputes, Verizon and Hearst settled their differences with a new deal while not revealing financial details.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is an award-winning journalist with more than 10 years of experience covering the business of television and radio broadcasting, streaming services and the overall media industry. In addition to his work as publisher of The Desk, Matthew contributes regularly to StreamTV Insider and KnowTechie, and has worked for several well-known news organizations, including Thomson Reuters, McNaughton Newspapers, Grasswire, Comstock's magazine, KTXL-TV and KGO-TV. Matthew is a member of IRE, a trade organization for investigative reporters and editors, and is based in Northern California.

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