Draper Media, Verizon FiOS reach agreement

Just in time for Thanksgiving football, Draper Media and Verizon FiOS have reached an agreement immediately bringing CBS and FOX back to thousands of customers in Kent and Sussex counties.

On Sept. 30, Verizon dropped three Draper Media stations – WBOC-TV, FOX21 and Antenna TV – from its lineup after the two companies reached an impasse.

“We are grateful for the patience of our Delaware viewers who subscribe to Verizon FiOS, who lost the ability to watch our stations on that system for the past seven weeks,” said Craig Jahelka, president of Draper Media, in a Nov. 20 press release. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but according to the press release, Verizon has also agreed to launch Draper Media Spanish-language station Telemundo Delmarva.

In a statement posted Sept. 30 on WBOC's webpage, Jahelka said negotiations had been going on for about six months, but Verizon had not been willing to recognize Draper Media’s value to Verizon customers.

At the time, Chris McCann, a Verizon representative, said WBOC had a proposed rate increase of 175 percent.

A prepared statement found on Verizon’s website Nov. 21 said the new contract includes reasonable rates and other terms and conditions that are in the best interest of customers.

“We regret any inconvenience the service interruption may have caused,” reads the statement.