How to Watch Local Channels if You’re a DIRECTV STREAM Customer Affected by Nexstar Outage
Local channels are still an important part of most people’s news and entertainment viewing. A February survey found that 76% of American viewers still watched broadcast channels daily, showing that viewers still prize content specific to their region.
That’s what makes carriage disputes like the current dustup between DIRECTV and Nexstar so difficult for consumers to bear. Over 200 Nexstar-owned stations across more than 100 markets in the United States went dark on DIRECTV and DIRECTV STREAM earlier this week, as the two sides feud over retransmission fees.
DIRECTV estimates that the outages affect 68% of American households, and if you’re a viewer who has lost access to a Nexstar-owned affiliate, check below to see if you can still access your favorite local channel without a new live TV streaming subscription.
Where DIRECTV Customers Can Watch Local CBS Affiliates
If you’re a DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM or AT&T U-Verse customer who lost a local CBS channel in the dispute between the satellite provider and Nexstar, the solution is simple. You can seek out a subscription to Paramount+ with Showtime, which offers a livestream of your local CBS affiliate 24 hours a day.
Users will need to choose the Paramount+ with Showtime tier, as the Essential tier does not include the CBS livestream. The plan normally costs $11.99 per month after a seven-day free trial, but if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber, you can currently sign up for Paramount+ with Showtime for 50% off the standard price for two months.
Where DIRECTV Customers Can Watch Local NBC Affiliates
If you lost access to your NBC station in the Nexstar-DIRECTV dispute, the avenue towards gaining access to your favorite channel is easy to tread. Last November, Peacock decided to integrate livestreams of 210 NBC stations onto its Premium Plus tier.
Peacock Premium Plus costs $9.99 per month, and includes ad-free access to the Peacock streaming library, as well as access to your local NBC station. Peacock offers more live sports than any other subscription video streaming service besides ESPN+, so if you’re a sports lover this is a great way to get coverage of your local NBC channel plus a little extra.
Where DIRECTV Customers Can Watch Local ABC Affiliates
Unlike Paramount Global and Comcast, Disney does not make local affiliates of its broadcast network ABC available to stream on any tier of Hulu or Disney+. However, users can still find next-day streams of primetime ABC shows on Hulu.
If sporting events on ABC like Wimbledon coverage are what interests you, check out ESPN+. The service does not carry every sporting event from ABC or ESPN, but it have some, including daily coverage from Wimbledon in both English and Spanish.
Where DIRECTV Customers Can Watch Local Fox Affiliates
Like ABC, Fox does not livestream any unowned affiliate stations on a subscription video service. But its primetime shows do head to Hulu the day after they air on the linear Fox network, so users at least have that option to watch their favorite titles from the channel.
What About TV Everywhere Credentials?
If users have TV Everywhere credentials through DIRECTV to one of these networks, they can still use them to log in to that network’s app and watch national and some syndicated programming as well. However, local content will not be available to watch with a TV Everywhere account.
Is There Any Other Way to Watch Local Channels Affected by Nexstar Outage?
Users should check with their local stations’ websites to see if that channel offers livestreams via web or dedicated app. If they don’t, customers can always head to the nearest electronics retailer for an over-the-air antenna, which should pick up all the local broadcast channels in their area.
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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.”