Northwest Broadcasting Reaches AT&T Deal, Ending Blackout

Northwest Broadcasting said that it reached a new long-term carriage agreement with AT&T that will return its stations to the DirecTV lineup, ending a blackout that lasted nearly eight months.

The retransmission consent fee dispute affected Northwest’s 18 stations in 10 markets.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

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“Northwest regrets the inconvenience this has placed on our valued viewers,” Northwest said in a message on the website of its station KAYU-TV, the Fox affiliate in Spokane.

In August, AT&T reached an agreement ending a two-month blackout of Nexstar stations. An impasse with CBS and its station ended Aug. 8.

Sinclair last month warned viewers that its deal with AT&T was expiring and that a blackout was possible, but the two sides appear to be negotiating and the stations remain on DirecTV and other AT&T outlets.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.