CBS and TEGNA (formely Gannett) have announced renewal deals for TEGNA’s 10 CBS affiliates. The agreement covers WUSA in Washington; WTSP in Tampa/St. Pete, Fla.; KHOU in Houston; KENS in San Antonio; KREM in Spokane, Wash.,; WWL in New Orleans; WFMY in Greensboro, N.C.; KTHV in Little Rock, Ark.; WLTX in Columbia, S.C.; and WMAZ in Macon, Ga.
TEGNA will also participate in CBS All Access, CBS’s $6 per month digital subscription service. Some station ownership groups fear streaming services like All Access will take eyeballs away from their linear broadcast stations. But they also recognize how rapidly technology is changing how people watch TV. When the now-shuttered Aereo service became a threat to the network-affiliate arrangment, CBS Chairman Les Moonves suggested he could take the network to an Over the Top service, which would leave affiliates out in the cold. It hasn’t come to that. This will expand CBS All Access to 85 percent of U.S. households by the end of the year.
“This agreement will benefit both companies in the near and long-term,” said Dave Lougee, president of TEGNA Media. “TEGNA Media is a longtime proud partner of the CBS Television Network, and we look forward to a strong relationship for years to come.”
Following its merger with Belo in 2013, TEGNA owns 46 TV stations across the country. With 19 NBC stations and 10 CBS stations, it is the largest owner of NBC and CBS affiliates. It also counts nine ABC affiliates, four MyNetworkTV stations, and three FOX affiliates.