Apollo-Owned Local-TV Group Locked in Fee Standoff With AT&T

(Bloomberg) -- Cox Media Group, a local-TV broadcaster owned by Apollo Global Management, and AT&T Inc. have failed to reach an agreement over a new carriage contract, leaving customers in 20 cities without some channels.

Cox is telling customers in cities including Atlanta, Boston, Pittsburgh and Seattle to call AT&T and urge the company to make a fair deal. Cox is also pointing viewers toward alternative streaming services like Roku Inc. or Apple Inc.’s Apple TV.

AT&T, which owns satellite-TV provider DirecTV, said talks are ongoing. “We continue to work with Apollo and Cox to get to these stations back and appreciate our customers’ patience while we do,” the company said in an emailed statement Tuesday.

Cox Media Group settled a similar dispute with Dish Network Corp. last month after TV signals were pulled for several months in 10 cities.

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