Nexstar Ends Hawaiian Telcom Blackout, But Operator Is Still Complaining to the FCC About the Broadcaster’s ‘Negotiating Tactics’

By Daniel Frankel
( NextTV )
published

Nexstar, of course, still has a massive station blackout on DirecTV to deal with

Nexstar
(Image credit: Nexstar)

Nexstar Media Group is entering the fourth week of a retrans kerfuffle that's seen over 200 stations blacked out on the No. 3 pay TV operator in the U.S., DirecTV. 

But the Irving, Texas-based station group did manage to get past its differences with Hawaiian Telecom, restoring Fox affiliate KHON, KHII (MyNetwork), NewsNation and several other stations to the operator’s grid. 

The stations had been blacked out on Hawaiian Telecom since the beginning of July. 

Earlier this month, Hawaiian Telecom complained to the FCC that Nexstar was negotiating in bad faith. 

Hawaiian Telecom hasn't pulled that complaint just because it managed to reach a new broadcast retransmission agreement with Nexstar. 

“Although we have reached an agreement with Nexstar, we will not drop our complaint at the FCC asserting that Nexstar violated federal law with its negotiating tactics, including using our customers as pawns,” said Filifotu Vaii, VP of consumer product sales for Hawaiian Telcom, in a statement.

Daniel Frankel
Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!