CBS and Sinclair Broadcast Group have renewed the affiliate deals for three TV stations covering more than 1.5 million people.
The agreements cover Sinclair’s KGAN in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, KGBT in Harlingen, Texas, and WGME in Portland, Maine, all of which had affiliate deals that were set to expire at the end of 2018.
CBS also renewed an affiliation for WTVH in Syracuse, New York, a station that Sinclair provides sales and other services to under a joint sales agreement.
"We are pleased we have reached this renewal agreement with Sinclair," said Ray Hopkins, president of network distribution for the CBS Television Network, in a statement. "This is a win-win with our longtime partner who recognizes the value that the number one network brings to viewers in these markets, while CBS continues to deliver industry-leading content and achieve both our short and long-term economic goals."
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Interestingly, the announcement makes no mention of the Sinclair affiliates opting into CBS All Access or distribution deals for recent virtual MVPDs like YouTube TV and Hulu.
In June, CBS and Sinclair announced an affiliate renewal covering:
- KUTV in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- KEYE in Austin, Texas.
- WSBT in South Bend, Indiana.
- WGFL in Gainesville, Florida.
That renewal included CBS All Access and YouTube TV.
In May, CBS and the CBS Affiliates Board reached a new deal geared toward expanding local broadcast content availability across new digital platforms.
"Expanding distribution on these new platforms together with our affiliates has been a part of CBS' long-term digital strategy, and I am very proud we have reached this agreement with our affiliate board," said Hopkins. "No broadcaster has made preserving the network-affiliate model a core tenet of their strategy like CBS. We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with our affiliates, and as these new forms of distribution continue to grow, including CBS All Access, so will our revenue together."
Sinclair said its CBS affiliates cover 8% of the U.S. and serve more than 9 million households across 24 markets.