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Owner of Boston Station Vows to Fight NBC Over Network Affiliation

Jan 8, 2016  •  Post A Comment

A fight is brewing in Boston over the NBC network affiliation. After the network announced plans to create its own station, as we reported yesterday, the owner of WHDH-TV, the city’s current NBC affiliate, said he will fight to keep his NBC affiliation.

TVNewsCheck reports that Ed Ansin, whose Sunbeam Television Corp. owns WHDH, outlined arguments against the NBC move in a release sent out by the station. NBC reportedly plans to dump WHDH when its affiliation agreement runs out at the end of this year, replacing it with an NBC-owned-and-operated station.

“Ansin will argue that the plan violates an agreement between NBC parent Comcast and the NBC affiliates; that WNEU, the possible home of the NBC O&O, does not fully cover the market; and that the plan will result in ‘excessive’ media concentration in the city,” TVNewsCheck reports.

whdh-tv nbc boston

 

2 Comments

  1. Don’t be surprised if NBC eventually purchases WHDH.

    I still wouldn’t count-out that possibility.

  2. NBC is playing obvious hardball with zero ethical considerations here, but that said Ansin needs to put his ego aside, get as much as he can from NBC for the station, and get on with his life. If Ansin fights NBC and loses the affiliation, WHDH will be worth maybe 10 million at best, with no major network affiliation. Ansin will have lost tens of millions of dollars. Being “right” in this situation doesn’t matter; being business prudent does.

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