DIRECTV, Nexstar Trade Barbs as Carriage Dispute Lingers on with Football Season Approaching
The frosty relationship between DIRECTV and Nexstar, the largest owner of local TV stations in the country, has not thawed one iota despite record-breaking heat this summer. DIRECTV and Nexstar have been locked in a dispute over retransmission fees that has caused Nexstar-owned channels in more than 100 markets to go dark since July 2.
Both outlets offered an update through competing statements in the past few days, and neither will give customers much hope that a resolution is forthcoming. DIRECTV wants users to know that Nexstar is asking for double the amount that it received in its last deal to air its local affiliates on DIRECTV and DIRECTV STREAM, and that such a large fee increase would necessarily mean subscription costs for the service would rise.
In a statement to The Streamable, a DIRECTV spokesperson said, “DIRECTV remains committed to negotiating a mutually beneficial agreement with Nexstar, even as they signal to their shareholders that a deal is on the horizon while dragging their feet on negotiations and further harming the broadcaster, its investors, local stations, and viewers across the country.”
Nexstar, on the other hand, said that its increased fee demands were in line with what other providers were currently paying to carry its channels. It also says that it offered DIRECTV a four-month extension of the carriage deal it previously had with the satellite company, only to receive a flat rejection.
“Once again, DIRECTV is misleading its subscribers, as they have done consistently throughout this impasse,” Nexstar said in a statement. “For weeks following the expiration of our contract in early July, DIRECTV didn’t bother to negotiate or even talk with us. DIRECTV is managed by a hedge fund, not a local broadcaster. They are interested is maximizing their profits, not serving their subscribers. We are merely asking for fair rates, commensurate with what other [companies] pay us for our highly valuable local news, live sports, and entertainment programming.”
DIRECTV claims that it has asked for the same four-month extension that Nexstar mentioned on multiple occasions, but has been rebuffed each time. That deal would allow the satellite and streaming provider to carry Nexstar’s owned-and-operated channels into February, guaranteeing that customers were able to watch the entire NFL and College Football seasons uninterrupted.
Nexstar owns affiliates of ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox, and NBC. As football season creeps closer, fans are likely growing increasingly anxious about their ability to watch their favorite team on local broadcast channels. DIRECTV customers can head to TVPromise.com to learn more about whether the outage is affecting their market, and apply for relief from the provider.
DIRECTV is also in the midst of a lawsuit against Nexstar, claiming that it is exercising de facto control over affiliates owned in name by White Knight Broadcasting and Mission Broadcasting. This gives Nexstar more than its legally-allotted share of control over broadcasts in the affected areas, DIRECTV claims, constituting an unlawful operation. Nexstar says it is in full compliance with FCC regulations regarding the channels in question.
In short, the messy retransmission dispute between Nexstar and DIRECTV doesn’t look like it will be resolved any time soon. Both companies have dug in their heels in insisting all blame lies with the other party, and customers will continue to lose out on their local channels as a result. Users who are concerned about missing NFL or other sports games broadcast on affiliates no longer available thanks to the dispute can grab an over-the-air antenna to watch them while Nexstar and DIRECTV continue to negotiate.
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.”