Fubo and Nexstar, the nation’s largest owners of local ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX affiliates, struck a new distribution deal to keep a large swath of its channels in the live streaming service’s lineup and avert a blackout.
The deal is described as a multi-year distribution agreement, although the companies didn’t disclose the terms. It covers 89 Nexstar-owned local TV stations affiliated with ABC, as well as The CW, which Nexstar owns a majority stake in, and MyNetworkTV. Some of these channels are new to the Fubo lineup. It also includes Fubo’s carriage of NewsNation, the cable news network started by Nexstar.
It’s the second carriage deal struck over the last few days, with Comcast and Paramount also reaching a new deal that kept CBS and cable networks like Comedy Central on the cable giant’s lineup. The agreements stand in contrast with the numerous disputes seen last year, with companies like DirecTV and Nexstar and Walt Disney and Charter Communications seeing blackouts over their disputes. DIRECTV is still feuding with Tegra, leaving many local affiliates blacked out in parts of the country.
We’ve seen an increasing rate of these disputes as both sides argue about the value of local content and whether it justifies the increasing programming costs that the local broadcasters are asking for.
In total, Nexstar owns or partners to run 200 stations in 116 markets in the country.