These are the most read stories of the week.

Nexstar retransmission-consent deals cap busy day on affiliate negotiation front

Nexstar Media Group Inc. rang out 2019 with five deals that will lift its retransmission-consent revenue well into the new decade. The nation’s largest operator of TV stations evidently inked pacts on Dec. 31, 2019, with the top two U.S. cable providers, Comcast Corp. and Charter Communications Inc., as well as cable operator Mediacom Communications Corp., Verizon Communications Inc.'s Fios TV and telecom provider Frontier Communications Corp.

Microsoft on hacking; YouTube on data collection; Netflix on original content

Microsoft Corp. took control of 50 domains used by hacking group "Thallium" to launch cyberattacks, YouTube LLC is set to limit data collection on videos for children, and Netflix Inc. said its original content topped all releases on its platform in 2019.

FuboTV, Sinclair RSNs disconnect over pricing differences

While the dawning of the new decade saw a number of retransmission-consent and carriage renewals, some parties did not come to terms, resulting in service disconnections. Those impacted included subscribers to sports-oriented virtual provider fuboTV Inc., which no longer carries the 21 regional sports networks owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. or YES Network (US), in which Sinclair owns an equity stake.

Myriad US TV stations face carriage uncertainty as contract expirations loom

More than 100 local U.S. broadcast stations could go off the air in the coming days as a number of contracts between cable operators and station owners expired by New Year's Day.

Nexstar's retrans deals; Google's tax changes; Tencent's Universal Music deal

Nexstar inked pacts with five cable providers, Google LLC said it will terminate an intellectual property licensing structure that allowed it to delay payment of U.S. taxes, and a consortium agreed to purchase a 10% equity stake in Universal Music Group Inc.