DIRECTV Providing Credits, Antennas to Customers Affected by Cox Channel Outage
As it often does, DIRECTV is giving current customers incentive to stay if their local channels are currently blacked out.
As live TV and on-demand streaming grapple for audience supremacy, there are bound to be casualties along the way. One big consequence of the decline in the number of pay-TV subscribers is an increase in channel outages, as distributors with fewer and fewer customers must pass the cost of increasing retransmission fees onto the subscribers they still have, or watch helplessly as the channels’ owner pulls them from airwaves. DIRECTV and Cox Media Group are currently stuck in a retransmission dispute, and DIRECTV is offering incentives to customers in the nine markets affected if they decide to stick with the service.
- DIRECTV is offering credits and antennas to subscribers missing channels thanks to the Cox outage.
- These credits are available for DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM, and AT&T U-Verse customers.
- Nine Cox-owned broadcast channel affiliates and several independent stations are currently blacked out for DIRECTV customers in select markets.
What is DIRECTV Offering Customers Missing Cox-Owned Channels?
DIRECTV customers in the nine markets where Cox offers a local broadcast channel can head to TVPromise.com enter their zip code and specify which DIRECTV service they receive. If they’re in an affected market, they’ll receive instructions on how to get a one-time credit of $10 off their bill. Hopefully, that will carry customers through the end of the retransmission dispute between DIRECTV and Cox, though there’s no way to know for sure how long it will last.
Some DIRECTV customers in markets where Cox channels are blacked out also report receiving offers of free over-the-air (OTA) antennas or Visa gift cards. These incentives aren’t available through the TV Promise website, but customers who contact DIRECTV via email or phone may be able to get them as DIRECTV fights to keep subscribers.
Does DIRECTV Always Give Credits to Make Up for Channel Outages?
DIRECTV has been stuck in more retransmission disputes than it would have been in the past year, but each time it tries to do right by its customers and offer them a credit for their trouble. It did so when TEGNA-owned stations were blacked out starting in late November of 2023, and when Nexstar channels went dark for DIRECTV customers earlier in the year.
Related: Canceling DIRECTV STREAM Because of Cox Channel Outage? Check Out Your Alternatives Here
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is currently seeking commentary on a rule that would force distributors like DIRECTV to provide rebates when they lose channels. DIRECTV chief content officer Rob Thun spoke before a House of Representatives committee last week about the proposal, saying it unfairly puts the burden on distributors when it’s channel owners who decide whether or not to pull their signals from airwaves.
“Listen, if there’s mandates that rebates are provided to customers, you’ve handed even more leverage to broadcasters in already stilted negotiations,” Thun said.
DIRECTV frequently provides rebates or other incentives to make it up to customers when channels go dark, but not all live TV services do likewise. The FCC could revise its rule to fine channel owners who pull their networks during retransmission disputes, but that does nothing to help the actual customers who are affected. Thun has a point that the rule puts the onus on distributors to refund customers despite the fact that they have no part in the decision to pull channels from the airwaves, but it’s the fairest way to help compensate for lost channels from the subscriber’s perspective.
There will be plenty more discussion on that rule proposal before the FCC makes a final call, but DIRECTV is not waiting to be forced to offer rebates to customers who are missing local channels thanks to the current retrans dispute with Cox. DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM, and AT&T U-Verse subscribers can go to TVPromise.com to sign up for a $10 credit off their next bill.
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.”