quita's back!
KVUE back on Austin airwaves after surprise AT&T agreement
After a weeks-long blackout, KVUE was restored on AT&T U-verse this weekend, returning our beloved Quita Culpepper to the airwaves.
The restoration comes after a somewhat surprise agreement between Tegna (which owns KVUE and 64 other stations across the country) and AT&T on December 20. The deal means the two companies have “have entered into a new multi-year retransmission consent agreement to provide TEGNA-owned local broadcast stations to customers of AT&T’s video platforms across the country,” per a press release.
"We are grateful to our viewers for their patience and we are proud to be serving them again," said Kristie Gonzales, President and General Manager of KVUE.
Along with award-winning local news coverage, shows like NCIS and The Bachelorette are back on for Austin, after an interruption that infuriated some 17.8 million pay TV subscribers across AT&T services, according to the Leichtman Research Group.
“AT&T and TEGNA regret any inconvenience to their customers and viewers and thank them for their patience,” the companies apologized in a joint statement.
Indeed, it was an inconvenience for local fans of CBS content. The standoff lasted for weeks, affecting viewers in Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Denver, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Phoenix, Seattle, and other major cities.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed by either party.