Sinclair, TWC Reach 'Agreement In Principle'

[Travicity]

Sinclair Broadcast Group and Time Warner Cable have reached an agreement in principle to end their carriage dispute. The new retransmission consent deal, whose details will be finalized over the next week, will prevent Sinclair's 28 stations in mid-size markets such as Pittsburgh and Milwaukee of going dark for 4 million subscribers in 21 markets. The two sides' previous agreement expired on Dec. 31 but at the last minute, Sinclair and TWC agreed to a two-week extension. "We're pleased to reach an agreement with Sinclair Broadcasting without any interruption in service for our customers," said Rob Marcus, TWC's president and COO. There are smaller stations operators whose stations' signal has been pulled as part of retransmission consent disputes: we are in Week 3 of Northwest Broadcasting’s blackout on DIRECTV in 3 markets and Frontier Radio Management’s blackout on DISH Network in Macon, GA.

DL