Appeals Court Affirms Decision to Deny Nexstar Injunction Against Time Warner Cable

Television stations may want to re-read their retransmission contracts to see whether they, too, could be subject to distant signal importations. The U.S. Court of Appeals has denied motions for a stay and injunction against Time Warner Cable for retransmitting Nexstar distant signals, agreeing with a Texas district court that Nexstar is not likely to succeed on the merits of its breach of contract claim against Time Warner Cable. Nexstar said that the language in its retrans consent agreement (RCA) did not apply to delivering signals outside a market, while TWC said it granted broad carriage rights. The Texas district court, in denying to enjoin Nexstar, agreed with TWC that the contract provided those broad rights and the Fifth Circuit affirmed that decision.