6 Hawaiian Telcom channels back on the air
Six channels carried by Hawaiian Telcom were back on the air Thursday after the company reached an agreement with Nexstar Media Inc. to restore KHON2 (FOX), KHII (MyNetwork), NewsNation and other networks to the lineup.
Hawaiian Telcom filed a Federal Communications Commission complaint on July 5 against Nexstar after the broadcaster failed to “meaningfully extend” its retransmission consent agreement during active negotiations, which resulted in five broadcast channels and one cable network going dark. The other channels were CW, GRIT and Rewind TV. Nexstar is the largest broadcaster in the United States and the parent company of those six stations.
When the prior agreement expired on June 30, even though both parties were actively negotiating, Hawaiian Telcom said Nexstar refused to provide an adequate extension that would allow both parties sufficient time to negotiate a mutually acceptable agreement.
Earlier this week, Hawaiian Telcom amended its FCC complaint against Nexstar after the two companies reached an agreement, including financial terms. However, Hawaiian Telcom said Nexstar refused to sign unless Hawaiian Telcom withdrew its original complaint and agreed not to file future complaints against the broadcaster.
“While we regret the inconvenience to our customers, we strongly believe that the circumstances were necessary to hold Nexstar, the largest U.S. TV station owner, not just accountable under the law, but to push back from the unrealistic and unsustainable fees it had been demanding for these channels,” said Filifotu Vaai, vice president of consumer product dales at Hawaiian Telcom.
“Although we have reached an agreement with Nexstar, we will not drop our complaint at the FCC asserting that Nexstar violated federal law with its negotiating tactics, including using our customers as pawns.”