Verizon FiOS this afternoon has announced that it has reached an agreement with broadcaster Nexstar which will return the 13 local Nexstar-owned TV stations, and the Nexstar-owned News Nation, to its lineup.
“Good news! We’ve been able to reach an agreement with Nexstar to resume airing their programming. We appreciate your patience during these negotiations, and we thank you for your support. Thanks for choosing Verizon,” the telco says at its web site.
The company did not say if the agreement is long-term or a temporary settlement. Nexstar has not issued a statement but the company’s local TV stations have removed the Verizon viewer alert from their web sites. Verizon viewers have reported on social media that the stations have returned.
The TV Answer Man will report back here if we get more information.
Update: The companies have announced it’s a multi-year deal.
The blackout, which began on October 14, affected nearly three million Verizon customers in 11 markets, including New York City, Philadelphia, Providence, and Buffalo. In addition to the local stations, Verizon lost the Nexstar-owned News Nation channel.
The two companies were arguing over how much Verizon should pay to carry the Nexstar stations.
The Verizon markets affected by the blackout included:
Washington, D.C.
Norfolk, VA
Richmond
Philadelphia
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Freehold, New Jersey
Buffalo
Queens, New York
Albany
Greenwich, Connecticut
Providence
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
This happens all of the time. Weather its DIRECTV, Verizon, or Spectrum. Its such BS! Next month, Verizon will raise the monthly price. This is legal robbery!