Key Points
- Verizon Fios TV customers will have uninterrupted access to channels from Nexstar Media Group.
- Financial terms of the new deal were not disclosed; the agreement runs for at least three years.
- Verizon has more than 2 million pay TV subscribers across several states.
Verizon has reached a deal with Nexstar Media Group that will allow subscribers of its Fios TV service to continue watching local channels and the cable network NewsNation for a few more years.
The deal, reached on Monday, affects customers along the East Coast of the United States, where Verizon offers fiber-based broadband Internet and pay television service in several areas.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. A source familiar with the agreement said the contract runs for three years, which is customary for pay TV agreements between broadcasters and distributors.
Last week, Verizon began alerting customers in several cities that at least one of their local channels might be dropped from the service due to a contractual impasse with Nexstar.
As is typical in disputes, the issue centered around fees that Verizon is required to pay to Nexstar for continued distribution of their channels.
The situation threatened to affect TV viewers in Norfolk, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Providence, Albany, Syracuse, Greenwich, Harrisburg and Washington, D.C. — all areas where Nexstar owns one or more local TV station.
All customers of Verizon Fios would have also lost access to NewsNation, the cable news channel that has steadily gained viewers over the past four years. A lapse in carriage would have deprived Nexstar of 2.6 million viewers who subscribe to Fios TV as of the second quarter (Q2) of the year.
Nexstar has not commented on the situation.
