Nexstar Broadcasting has settled an antitrust lawsuit against Granite Broadcasting and WISE, Granite’s NBC and Fox affiliate in Fort Wayne, Ind.

As a result of the settlement, Nexstar’s WFFT will once again become a Fox affiliate after 18 months as an independent station.

WFFT lost its Fox affiliation in 2011. WISE picked up the affiliation, giving Granite control of the Fox, NBC, ABC, CW and MyNetworkTV affiliations in Fort Wayne. Claiming Granite was monopolizing local television sales, Nexstar filed suit in 2011.

In a statement Wednesday, Nexstar said the settlement was “mutually agreed” on, “without any costs being borne by either party.”

“We are looking forward to the return of FOX’s programming to WFFT LOCAL where we are committed to providing the most relevant, compelling and informative content and community-focused programming to our viewers,” VP-GM Bill Ritchhart said in a statement.

Nexstar also announced Wednesday it would acquire KSEE, the NBC affiliate in Fresno, CA from Granite for $26.5 million.

Dan Ball is joining WFFT, Nexstar’s independent station in Fort Wayne, as news director and main anchor.

“We’re excited to have Dan join our station and lead our award-winning news team,” VP-GM Bill Ritchhart said in a statement. “Dan brings a wealth of large market experience that can take our news room to the next level.”

Ball was most recently the morning anchor at KSNV, the NBC affiliate in Las Vegas. In March 2012, the station did not renew his contract.

He replaces Jim Blue, who is joining WNWO in Toledo as news director and main anchor.

After losing its Fox affiliation last month, Nexstar-owned WFFT will become the first independent station in the Fort Wayne market, Nexstar announced today.

Fox and Nexstar have been locked in a long battle over cable and satellite retransmission fees. Throughout the past several months, Fox has been cutting loose Nexstar-owned stations, forcing them to forge new affiliations in their respective markets. WFFT is the second Nexstar-owned station to announce it will become independent after losing its Fox affiliation –  the other one is Evansville’s WTVW.

The independent WFFT will launch August 1. The station will add news coverage across its broadcasts, with the 10 p.m. weekday newscast to be expanded to a full hour this summer and the 10 p.m. weekend newscast to be expanded to a full hour this fall. Nexstar also announced today that as part of the transition, WFFT will debut high definition programming in October. It will be the first station in the market to make the HD switch.

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A little over a month after losing the Fox affiliation of its station in Evansville, Nexstar is cutting ties with Fox at KSFX in Springfield, MO and WFFT in Fort Wayne, IN.

This week Fox announced new affiliation agreements with stations in Springfield and Fort Wayne, signing deals with Koplar Communications’ KRBK and Granite Broadcasting’s WISE. The new deals mean that Nexstar will have to forge new identities for its stations after decades with Fox.

“We’ve been negotiating with Nexstar for over a year and weren’t able to come to terms on a contract renewal,” said Scott Grogin, a spokesperson for Fox Broadcasting. “It was not a bidding situation.”

Fox has been pushing its affiliates to give up a significant portion of the retrans fees received from cable and satellite providers, which has drawn the ire of Nexstar. Read more

WFFT reporter Kristin Mazur faced stiff competition outside of a Fort Wayne courthouse on Tuesday as she attempted to interview Charlie Sheen goddess Bree Olson, who was in town to face a DUI charge.

National tabloids, including TMZ and “Inside Edition,” were in northern Indiana to cover Olson’s appearance before a judge. Olson, whose real name is Rachel Oberlin, grew up in the Fort Wayne area and was arrested in early February on suspicion of drunk driving.

As Olson entered the courthouse, Mazur asked her about a rumor that she had tried to pee on the floor of an emergency room following the arrest. Olson answered with an emphatic “No.”

The judge set a 2-day trial for the DUI case and after the hearing Olson appeared alongside her attorney and answered a handful of questions from reporters.  “Other people don’t know Charlie the way that I do,” she said. “I support him 100 percent.” (TMZ video here).