Local TV stations in 107 markets, including WEHT-ABC25 here in Evansville, have been removed by satellite provider DirecTV as the companies failed to reach a distribution agreement on new retransmission consent fees. Those fees are the amount broadcasters request to be carried on pay-TV platforms such as satellite, cable, and streaming. The dispute began July 2 and went into its second week and left about 10 million subscribers without access to Nexstar’s local news programming. That includes local weather updates, coverage of natural disasters, and in-depth news stories. In addition, DIRECTV viewers need to catch up on popular network shows and events such as the Women’s World Cup soccer, the British Open golf tournament, and MLB’s All-Star game.
Nexstar, the largest local TV station owner in the U.S., said in a statement that DirecTV rejected its offer to extend the current distribution agreement to Oct. 31. The company accused DirecTV of refusing to negotiate “fair market rates” for its programming, saying that the satellite operator had demanded more than double what Nexstar pays other distribution partners.
In a separate statement, Rob Thun, chief content officer of DirecTV, blamed the blackout on Nexstar, claiming that the company has a history of forcing outages to raise retransmission fee prices. He added that the company would continue to work with Nexstar “to reach a reasonable contract and protect its customers.”
The dispute is rare when DirecTV has dropped or threatened to drop its viewers’ access to the network and local community programming. The company has regularly gotten into disputes with providers such as Viacom (VIA.N) and SJL Broadcasting/Lilly Broadcasting. The company said it would continue to provide viewers in the affected markets with programming from other providers, such as NBC affiliates in Los Angeles, CBS affiliate KTLA-CW in Los Angeles, and independent station KRON in San Francisco.
Negotiations between the two sides are scheduled for Saturday. In a press release, the company expects to have Nexstar’s programming back on its system as soon as possible.
The two sides have been involved in a series of legal actions since March, when DIRECTV filed a lawsuit alleging that Nexstar conspired with its two largest station groups, Mission Broadcasting and White Knight Broadcasting, to force higher retransmission consent fees from pay-TV providers such as DIRECTV. The company also claimed that Nexstar violated media ownership rules by controlling station operations and retransmission negotiations in 23 markets where it doesn’t own a full-fledged local television station. The suit seeks an injunction preventing Nexstar and its affiliates from using retransmission fee negotiations to drive up local TV rates for viewers. Nexstar denied the claims in its filing with the FCC in June. The lawsuit was later dismissed. The dispute continues to impact local viewers across the country. Those affected include the residents of the California cities of Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Francisco.