Fox broadcasting and sinclair reach carriage renewal covering 25 markets

Fox Corp.‘s broadcast subsidiary and No. 2 station group Sinclair have reached a multi-year renewal covering Fox affiliates in 25 markets. The stations reach about 11% of U.S. TV households.

“We are pleased that we have reached agreements with Fox to continue our long-standing relationship. These renewals reflect the mutually beneficial network-affiliate model, which integrates

the network’s primetime and sports programming with our stations’ local news and syndicated content,” Barry Faber, president of distribution and network relations for Sinclair, said in a

press release. Added Mike Biard, president of operations and distribution for Fox, “This new agreement extends our valued relationship with Sinclair and ensures that millions of consumers

will continue to enjoy Fox’s leading sports and entertainment content from the No. 1 broadcast network of the television season.” In an industry increasingly wracked by distribution tension

as the pay-TV bundle frays and cord-cutting accelerates, Fox Corp. has seen its share of carriage disputes. Its networks and stations went dark on Dish Network for several weeks in the fall

of 2019. Last February, as Fox got set to broadcast Super Bowl LIV, Roku went public with news of friction with the company, though the issue was resolved in time for kickoff. WATCH ON

DEADLINE Sinclair, which also owns the Tennis Channel and leads a consortium of investors running two dozen Fox-branded regional sports networks. The networks changed hands as a result of

the Disney-21st Century Fox deal. The RSNs — rebranded under the Bally’s name last month in a 10-year deal with the casino operator — have been in a long-term outage on Dish and Sling TV,

and recently went dark on YouTube TV.