All TV providers have contractual agreements with broadcasters and go through these same types of negotiations. You can experience a threat of a blackout with any TV provider. In fact, the American Television Alliance reports that in the last five years, 80% of TV markets in the U.S. have experienced at least one local broadcast blackout. 

If a blackout of the KHON2 (FOX) does occur, you can find award winning news and compelling programming on other local stations like Hawaii News Now or KITV. 

You may hear false claims from Nexstar that we aren’t agreeing to fair market rates, but that simply isn’t true. We know you value KHON2 (FOX) programming and local news but we are fighting to keep your costs at a reasonable rate. Nexstar is asking for outrageous rate increases which translates to higher costs to our customers.  We are fighting to get fair rates for you.  

Nexstar is asking for an 70% increase over today's rate by the end of their proposed contract and are trying to leverage their market power to force higher rates. In the last 5 years, their rates have increased nearly 5 times more than the rate of inflation and they continue to demand outrageous increases which translate to higher costs to you. We believe that Nexstar is trying to squeeze every penny from you to increase their already record-breaking profits. As of May 9, 2023, Nexstar reported record revenue for Q1 2023 of $1.257 billion dollars. It is clear that our customers will be significantly impacted by their demands.   

Retransmission (or retrans) consent fees are the payments that Pay TV providers, like Hawaiian Telcom, make to broadcasters to carry their signals, even though their signals are available for free with an antenna. Near the end of a contract, Pay TV providers will enter negotiations with broadcasters to reach an agreement on new rates to carry their channels. If we do not agree to the rates proposed, the broadcaster can pull their signals, resulting in a channel blackout.
 
Consumers should be aware that:  

• The rules governing retrans fees are part of the 1992 Cable Act.  
• These rules were written at a time when most of us had only one choice for pay TV service and the Internet was still in its infancy.

Hawaiian Telcom is committed to providing our customers with the programming they enjoy at a fair rate. If an agreement is not reached, this results in a temporary blackout of the broadcaster's channels.

Nexstar has a history of forcing blackouts with TV providers. Since 2018, they have had blackouts with numerous TV providers in over 200 markets across the nation due to retransmission negotiations. They use this tactic to force higher rates on providers and ultimately you, the customer.

Broadcasters that are considered part of the “Big 4” networks including ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX. They provide programming, such as morning and nightly national news shows, some daytime dramas, prime time programming, and late-night shows. The programming is then shown by their owned and operated (“O&O”) stations or their local affiliated stations, like Nexstar Broadcasting Group (KHON2), Allen Media Broadcasting (KITV) and Gray (KHNL & KGMB) here in Hawaii.

This is the first time Hawaiian Telcom has had to do this with a local broadcaster. We share your frustrations but we’re committed to fighting for lower rates for you.