WFLA Asking Viewers For Help In Verizon Dispute

As time runs out for Verizon and Media General to negotiate a retransmission agreement, Tampa-St. Petersburg’s WFLA is enlisting the help of viewers to help prevent a blackout.

“What the viewers are seeing is a crawl that WFLA is putting across their channel saying we are in a dispute,” Verizon spokesman Bob Elk told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. The station is urging viewers to contact Verizon and pledge loyalty to the station.

Media General is negotiating with Verizon for carriage of WFLA and WJAR, the NBC-affiliate in Providence. Elek said the parties “are continuing to negotiate in good faith,” noting, “rarely do these things end up with a channel actually leaving the air.”

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