WASHINGTON, July 5 -- Washington Post Co. and NBC announced Tuesday they have reached a long-term agreement renewing affiliations of WDIV in Detroit and KPRC in Houston. The deal means that CBS lost another possible option for a Detroit television affiliate. It has been looking for a new TV affiliate in the Motor City because its current affiliate -- WJBK-TV, Channel 2 -- will switch to the Fox Network next fall. CBS was blocked last month from setting up a new deal in Detroit when Capital Cities/ABC and Scripps Howard Broadcasting signed a deal that renewed their committment to WXYZ-TV, Channel 7. Tuesday's announcement comes as major TV networks are scrambling to keep their distribution lineups intact after a dozen New World stations ditched the Big Three networks for the Fox Network in late May. NBC, a unit of General Electric Co., did not disclose the terms of the agreement, which gives it 213 affiliates. Detroit is the nation's ninth largest TV market and Houston is the 10th largest. Robert C. Wright, president and chief executive officer of NBC, said, 'A network is only as strong as its affiliates. We are gratified that our stations in two of the top ten U.S. markets have renewed their commitment to NBC.' In addition to WDIV and KPRC, the Washington Post owns WPLG, an ABC affiliate in Miami; WFSB, a CBS affiliate in Hartford, Conn.; KSAT, an ABC affiliate in San Antonio; and WJXT, a CBS affiliate in Jacksonville, Fla.
Fox's move, which included a $500 million payment to New World, has set off a scramble among networks to cut deals with station groups. CBS was the hardest hit by the Fox departures, losing eight affiliates, including the outlet in Detroit. Wall Street analysts have said CBS may have managed to end the defections with its announcement last week that it will merge with QVC Network Inc. and let QVC Barry Diller run CBS. Diller is widely regarded as the industry's top programmer, given his credentials in launching the Fox Network eight years ago at a time when some analysts believed network television was facing eventual extinction from the cable networks. Both CBS and NBC have been reported this week as being in talks with Westinghouse Electric Corp.'s Group W subsidiary about affiliating its five major market stations with a single network. Group W's stations are in important markets such as Boston, Philadelphia and San Francisco, with two carrying NBC affiliations, two with CBS and one with ABC. A report has also emerged that CBS affiliate WHDH of Boston is considering leaving for Fox. The station is owned by Sunbeam Television Corp., which also owns Fox affiliate WSVN in Miami.
