WGN America Gains Cablevision Carriage in Tribune Media Deal
Our Take:
WGN America’s distribution has increased to 76 million homes as part of the Cablevision/Tribune Media deal announced Thursday. Tribune has been trying to transform WGN into a general-entertainment network, so this is a big boost for the net. Originals like “Manhattan” and “Salem” have been a big part of the push, with the former earning the network its first-ever Primetime Emmy nomination. With this deal, nearly 80% of the channel’s reach will be paying carriage fees for the network.
Cablevision and Tribune Media have set a carriage agreement that includes the launch of WGN America and the purchase of Tribune’s small stake in the Newsday Holdings publishing group. The deal also renews Cablevision’s license of Tribune’s Gracenote TV listings and movie data for the Optimum video and VOD services.