Spectrum cable television subscribers in the Berkshires will again be able to view news from WWLP-TV, the Springfield-based NBC affiliate.
In a statement released Friday, the office of Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., announced the deal between Spectrum parent company Charter Communications and Nexstar Media Group, owner of WWLP.
The agreement, three years in the making, will restore Berkshire County viewers' access to in-state, local news programming, according to the statement. The WWLP programming should be restored in the next 60 days.
Markey credited his counterpart, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, for their efforts in brokering the agreement.
"The people of Massachusetts rely on local broadcast television every day. It's how we get the news that matters to us. It's how we stay up to date on the information that affects our lives," Markey said in the statement. "I am proud to announce that we have reached a solution that will give Berkshire County residents what they want: access to Massachusetts news."
Under the terms of this agreement, Spectrum subscribers will see live WWLP news programming as it airs, or previous news broadcasts.
In effect, the station will serve as a 24-hour WWLP news station covering Massachusetts, the statement said. Spectrum subscribers in the Berkshires will also continue to have access to broadcast stations based in Albany, N.Y.
Because the Berkshires are technically part of the Albany "Designated Market Area," Western Massachusetts viewers have had access only to broadcast stations that focus on New York. Berkshire County is, therefore, known as an "orphan county," like other counties in Wisconsin, Colorado and Nebraska.
However, Spectrum recently began producing its own Western Massachusetts news program for Berkshire subscribers.
Markey personally met with the CEOs of Charter and Nexstar, and encouraged the two parties to resolve their dispute and meet Berkshire residents' demand for Massachusetts television programming, according to the statement. Over the past three years, Markey's staff has been in regular contact with both companies and has worked to return Massachusetts programming to the Berkshires.
