Verizon To Carry LIN Stations

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/3/2007 5:31:00 PM

LIN TV has struck an agreement with Verizon for carriage of its TV stations on the telcos’ FiOS video service.

Verizon has agreed to carry both analog and digital signals for all LIN TV’s in markets where Verizon provides the service.

The deal does not include multicast channels, however, nor does it guarantee that HDTV signals will not be converted to lower resolution. The agreement contains a sort of "least favored nation" clause that says LIN's digital signals' resolution can be no worse than that of other stations carried on FiOS, but a spokesman for the station group said the company is not worried about the quality of FiOS' signal reproduction.

Verizon’s FiOS service is currently operating in a handful of states, including Virginia, where LIN’s WAVY-TV and WVBT-TV, both serving the seaport town of Norfolk, will be the first LIN stations to be carried on FiOS.
 
Broadcasters are eager to strike carriage deals with telcos, hoping that will spur cable operators to cut better deals with stations.

LIN owns 18 stations and, as part of the deal, all will get carriage whenever FiOS powers up in their markets.