Nexstar Pushes Back Against DIRECTV’s CW Claims, Says Satellite Provider Has Been Streaming Channel Without Copyright
The acrimonious proceedings between Nexstar and DIRECTV are taking another step in the wrong direction. Last week, DIRECTV accused Nexstar of unfairly pulling Sinclair-owned CW stations into its existing carriage dispute with the company, inappropriately removing them from DIRECTV STREAM.
Nexstar is firing back, according to filings made with the Federal Communications Commission last week. The largest station owner in the United States said that DIRECTV had an ongoing campaign to “disparage” it, and that its retransmission consent rights had been violated by DIRECTV continuing to offer STREAM customers The CW despite the fact that its retransmission agreement with the channels expired last November.
“DIRECTV mischaracterizes the circumstances around its unlawful carriage of CW programming on its streaming platform,” Nexstar wrote. “As DIRECTV is well aware, its agreement with The CW authorizing streaming of CW programming on DIRECTV’s [live streaming] service expired in November 2022. As a sophisticated industry participant, DIRECTV knew that Sinclair could not authorize it to stream CW programs in the absence of a CW network agreement. Nonetheless, DIRECTV STREAM continued to stream CW programming without the appropriate copyright license for the next eight months, until The CW became aware of the infringement and took steps to cause it to stop, as is its legal right.”
For its part, DIRECTV put forward the argument that because live TV streaming services, also known as virtual multi-channel video programming distributors (vMVPDs) are regulated differently than traditional cable and satellite plans, it could continue carrying CW programming on DIRECTV STREAM.
“As we stated in the letter [from last week], Nexstar’s behavior underscores the widely adopted position that the Commission should not extend the retransmission consent regime to online providers,” said a DIRECTV spokesperson. “DIRECTV was carrying those CWs through our valid agreement with that station group, an agreement that pre-dated Nexstar’s acquisition of the national CW network.”
It’s been nearly a month since ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, NBC and NewsNation affiliates owned by Nexstar went dark in more than 100 markets across the country. Nexstar is continuing to deal with that fire, though it managed to smother a disagreement with Hawaiian Telcom that caused its channels to go dark on the islands for a short time as well. Nexstar became the majority owner of The CW in August of 2022.
The broadcaster is also grappling with a complaint registered by DIRECTV that its de facto control of local affiliates owned in name by White Knight and Mission Broadcasting gives it more than the legally allotted amount of reach in certain markets.
There’s no end in sight for this carriage dispute, and the tone is only getting more bitter. Now, it may fall to the FCC to untangle some aspects of the schism before DIRECTV and Nexstar can get back to doing business. The issues between the two companies could be a harbinger of things to come, as more customers cut the cord and leave pay TV behind altogether.
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.”