Sinclair, Comcast Ink Retrans Pact

After pulling its HDTV signals from the MSO last month, Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. has reached a retransmission-consent deal for its analog and digital signals with Comcast Corp., officials said Wednesday.

In a statement, Sinclair said the multiyear agreement covers all of the broadcaster’s stations in markets served by Comcast.

The giant cable operator will begin carrying the digital signals of Sinclair’s ABC-, CBS-, Fox- and NBC-affiliated stations in the next few weeks, then offer the digital signals of the broadcaster’s The WB Television Network and UPN stations later this year, according to Sinclair.

“Comcast has historically carried the analog signals of all of the Sinclair stations located in Comcast markets, and such carriage will continue under the agreement,” Sinclair said in its statement.

Earlier this year, Sinclair had reached a temporary pact that allowed Comcast to offer the HDTV feed for the broadcaster’s Fox affiliates for the Super Bowl in six markets -- Baltimore; Pittsburgh; Nashville, Tenn.; Richmond, Va.; Charleston, S.C.; and Paducah, Ky.

But Sinclair pulled its HDTV signals for those markets in February. That dispute has now been resolved with the binding permanent deal announced Wednesday.