July 9, 2012

Retrans Roller Coaster—DISH Battles Another Station, DirecTV Extends

The latest retrans blackout? WFMJ-TV Channel 21 in Youngstown, OH, on DISH. The DBS op and NBC affil had recently extended the existing contract but failed to reach an agreement before the extension expired last week. Read what WFMJ’s gm says about the spat. Separately, DirecTV and Northwest agreed on yet another extension until July 31. INSERT LINK

Also in the July 9 issue of CableFAX Daily:

The FCC Media Bureau on Fri rejected a retrans negotiation complaint against Shentel by Allbritton, owner of WJLA-TV Washington. The station had asked the Commission to require Shentel to agree to carry the station on terms that Shentel previously proposed.

The NY Post on Fri reported that Comcast plans to sell NBCU’s 15% stake in AETN for $2.8bln to the net’s other owners Disney and Hearst.

Latino-focused content development/marketing firm LatinPointe Brands will team with the Lippin Group to work on marketing campaigns for clients targeting the Hispanic market.