DIRECTV, Nexstar Prepare to Lock Horns in Carriage Dispute That Could Cause 200 Stations to Go Dark

In some ways, carriage fee disputes are part of the natural evolution of the entertainment industry. Cord cutters are creating something of a paradox for cable and satellite providers; there are fewer people paying subscription fees, which means less revenue is coming in for providers, while channel owners are trying to raise their carriage rates due to the fact that fewer people are watching their stations and they have to make up the difference somehow.

The resulting disagreements over carriage fees can leave thousands of viewers across the country missing their favorite stations. That looks increasingly likely to happen to DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM, and AT&T U-Verse customers in over 100 markets across the United States, as the company’s carriage contract with Nexstar — the largest TV station owner in the country — is about to expire in those areas.

DIRECTV claims that Nexstar is attempting to more than double the carriage fees it is paid in those markets. Some of these places have more than one Nexstar-owned channel, meaning that roughly 200 ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and CW-affiliated stations might be going dark in the coming weeks.

“Nexstar, the nation’s largest broadcaster, is demanding to more than double the amount it charges our customers to access approximately 200 local stations it owns or controls in more than 100 metro areas that serve 68% of U.S. TV households,” a DIRECTV spokesperson said. “Unfortunately, Nexstar has a long track record of demanding significantly higher fees from all pay TV operators and often forces providers to stop carrying their channels during negotiations. DIRECTV will take the necessary actions to provide our customers access to their favorite programming while protecting them from unwarranted price increases.”

This is not the beginning nor end of DIRECTV’s rocky relationship with Nexstar, either. In March, the satellite provider filed suit against Nexstar in U.S. District Court over what it claimed were illegal attempts to control more stations in broadcasting areas through third party station owners. The suit alleges that Nexstar has de facto control over stations nominally owned by two other companies, which gives it too much control over what’s on TV in those markets.

DIRECTV filed an informal complaint with the FCC regarding that issue this week, as well. DIRECTV’s concerns are clearly legitimate; if it does end up having to pay higher carriage fees to Nexstar, there’s a good chance some — or all — of those fees will be passed along to the customer in the form of price hikes, which would worsen the cycle that cablers and broadcasters are already in forcing increased cord-cutting and, in turn, less revenue coming in.

On the other hand, Nexstar doesn’t seem to be having this kind of trouble with other major live TV streaming providers. Nexstar acquired a majority stake in The CW last August, and since then it has reached a carriage deal with Hulu + Live TV. Nexstar stations are also now available on YouTube TV in many markets, thanks to an agreement signed in March.

The issue of cord-cutting isn’t going away, which means that providers and station owners will continue to get stuck in these carriage quagmires in the coming years. It’s the same type of issue that led to Fubo customers losing their CBS stations in 160 markets across the country earlier this year. That carriage dispute was eventually resolved, as will likely occur with the issues between Nexstar and DIRECTV, but problems like this will continue to rise as more and more customers leave pay TV.

List of Nexstar Stations

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DIRECTV STREAM

DIRECTV STREAM is a live TV streaming service, which is essentially the streaming version of the DIRECTV service. All packages include local channels and at least 31 of the top 35 cable channels. New subscribers can get a free Gemini streaming device from the company, in which case the service is called “DIRECTV via Internet.”

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DIRECTV STREAM starts at $79.99 / month for their Entertainment package. You can upgrade to their Choice package, which begins at $108.99 / month, that includes your local RSN and HBO Max for three months. They also have an Ultimate ($119.99) for 130 channels and Premier ($164.99) for 140 channels. In addition to not having a contract, there are no extra RSN fees or Broadcast TV fee.

The service includes an Unlimited DVR on all packages and unlimited simultaneous at-home streams.

The service was previously called AT&T TV.

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