Q. I am a DIRECTV subscriber and I haven’t had my CBS station for more than a month and it’s driving me crazy, particularly with football season. I would drop DIRECTV, but I am stuck in one of those two-year contracts you wrote about. So my question is, Can’t I sue DIRECTV? I mean, I signed up for the two years thinking I would get CBS and now I don’t. Aren’t they in breach of the contract? — Johnnie, Portland.
Johnnie, DIRECTV has been without more than 120 Nexstar-owned local stations since July 3 due to a fee dispute between the two companies. The stations include network affiliates for CBS, ABC, Fox and ABC.
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Some DIRECTV subscribers, particularly those who want to watch this season’s NFL games on CBS and Fox, would like to cancel the satellite TV service and sign up with a pay TV provider or live streaming service that carries the channels. However, many DIRECTV customers have enrolled in two-year plans that include stiff termination fees if you cancel prior to the end of the agreement. (The two-year offers come with attractive and exclusive benefits such as the NFL Sunday Ticket for free.)
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But I have received several e-mails from DIRECTV subscribers saying they can sue the satcaster for breach of contract. By their thinking, they should be allowed to cancel now without penalty because DIRECTV no longer provides all the channels that were available when their two-year agreement first began.
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I can understand why they would feel that way. They are angry about the blackout of a favorite channel. But I have to inform everyone that you can’t sue DIRECTV for breach to get out of the two-year deal. The satcaster has included language in the agreement that enables them to drop channels, or raise prices, at any time during the two years.
“Programming, pricing, terms and conditions subject to change at any time,” the agreement states.
So, Johnnie, if you want to cancel DIRECTV, you won’t have any success doing it by filing a lawsuit.
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvpredictions.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
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I am with Johnnie on this, if we breach the contract we have to pay a penalty, but if they breach the contract by not providing the programs that were promise to us and that we have paid, and not giving a refund all is good. Boy something is wrong with this picture, you say you will give us credit but that is only pennies on the dollars, doesn’t amount to the loss we have suffered. There again the big companies get bigger and fatter by screwing with there value customers who pay their bills, were is the fairness?
I have Directvnow (not directv) .. Streaming service. $50/month.. I negotiated with them and they are giving me $15off my bill for the next two months. Total $30 savings, so what I did is purchased the CBS all access app for $5.99/month so I can watch Big Brother and will cancel after BB is done and still be ahead of the game. The big problem is nexstar.. And Directv is not the only provider affected.. Directv tried to negotiate.. But nexstar is being very greedy.. Like they don’t make enough $$ already.. Hopefully this will be settled soon. Best of luck!!
I think we should get a huge price cut on our bill. We are not getting what we are paying for. Same old story, screw the customer.
I got a similar deal….$20.00 off a month for one year! You didn’t gripe enough!
I dont get NBC. this is ridiculous.
Agree on they make big bucks already. I’m very upset about it,and no compensation for loss of network
If papers were signed & the dispute with Chanel 2 resolved, why are we still unable to get our Chanel back
I agree with the discount. It’s crap I pay the same amount for far less channels
You are still paying for local channels, but not getting the service. So although you signed a 2 year deal, and dtv has language about dropping and adding, thie local channels is an add on service. If they have not replaced the local channel with another, seems to me the contract is one sided. Dtv should refund the portion of the contract they are not fulfilling, or the contract is null
I was on a chat the other day with DirecTV about this very issue and all’s they did for me was give me a $10 credit . At least you can get that until the stations come back.
I have directv myself. You are not charged anything to receive your local channels. Those are supplied as a courtesy. So you suffer no financial ‘harm’ even if you lost them all. So technically theyre not obligated to provide them at all, so they dont breach anything. In my case, i lost NBC not CBS. its no big deal to me because their programming sucks anyway. I only watch one show on NBC, and i get my local channels free over the air. I just record that program over the air on my ancient VCR that records and leaves out all the commercials. So in the end i dont see any of the commercials at all that generate their income. Occasionally one will slip thru. Its really only inconvenient in that i have to program the VCR rather than just hit the DVRs record button.
I griped so much, demanded to speak to a supervisor and I got $20.00 off a month for 1 year, at the end of the year l just call and tell them l want to stay on the same plan!
Some dont get NBC and some dont get CBS. The local channels are picking what market they want to cut off.
Are you people NOT READING or just dumb ? You do NOT pay a cent to Directv for your local channels. They are given to you as a COURTESY. you want compensated for something you got for FREE. Im in Ohio and thats like sueing Iowa or getting all my rain. Apparently some people are getting a discount for complaining though. Anyone want to buy a bridge im selling in Brooklyn ?
Before locals were available, we were provided the national affiliates, east (NY)and west (LA) as a means to watch OTA television on channels 389-399. Why, as a way to satisfy customers during this dispute, isn’t DTV offering customers the ability to access that band of channels? Seems like a simple fix to me. And if it’s licensing issues that prevents it, then it’s a small price to pay to keep your customer base intact versus the blood bath of attrition that’s currently taking place. Give me those until your dispute is settled, and you’ll keep my business. Not only an I affected by Nexstar, I’m also affected by their stonewalling with Deerfield (Sinclair) that been going on since May. No one would really care if access to those upper band of channels was available… At least I wouldn’t.
Direct tv tech nurned out tv cable and we have not had service in at least 6 or 7 weeks now. They will not come out as long as there is a claim but somehow the first claim got deleted? Refiled a claim a few days ago and have heard nothing yet. There is a lot more to the story. Going to give them 1 week before we sue them.
A lot of people I have talked to are dissatisfied with DTV, including me. I have had so much trouble with them. It would take a lot of space to tell u more about them.
Switch to spectrum they will buy your contract
Only if they can prove they gave you the information.
I’m sorry you’re a victim. I’m sorry Locast is a victim. I’m sorry AT&T is a victim. Nextstar is demanding 7$ per subscriber. More than CBS All Access. Sue the criminal, NextStar, not the previous provider! Better yet, indict them. Wait, I forgot, Democrats refuse to be blamed for breaking laws.
I don’t need CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN. Any more Never Again I have Directv and Netflix. Who needs the Major Networks? Not me. They have all tried to Overthrow the President the last 2 years so I don’t need them.
Everyone with Directv is upset about not having CBS. I live in southern Ohio and I have CBS. The station that is out here is NBC, channel 10 out of Columbus, OH. I imagine it is the same issue with whatever station is out in any area that deals with DirecTV. I am just waiting out my contract which is not to much longer and they are gone. Am planning on getting the old type tv antenna like my grandparents had. My neighbor has one and an inside antenna they got at Walmart for $25 and you wouldn’t believe the channels they get. Even the DirecTV stations I do get only work half the time. This is just so aggravating. I am not using just waiting til the contract is up. Thank you for letting me vent about this issue.
I have direct tv I DO NOT HAVE A CONTRACT WITH THEM!! We haven’t had ABC since July 4th!!!! I told them to cancel my service it has been 2 weeks and I still have my service
We bought a fire stick 4k, and I haven’t hooked that up yet
Direct tv is a joke and this isnt the first time they have blacked out channels or REMOVED channels without you even noticing it
After their problem with VICAM they did the same thing, came to an agreement and our bill shot up now direct tv alone is 93.86 a month
Get our local channels CBS back on air. This is a free channel and also a channel that broadcasts emergencies tornado, other weather storms This is not right. I record shows while at work to watch later. Cannot do that getting antenna to pickup local channels. I have a DVR that is worthless if I want to record my local channels. Get your act together. This is so childish and wrong. I pay too much to not have channels I want and need at times. Shame on all of you.
Different streaming services are getting the same. CBS pulled off Sling tv for example. Quit them all and buy a $10 antenna and get all your local channels for free. Does anyone ever watch 500 channels anyway ?
Same thing with Firestick and other streaming service. You can record over the air tv with a VCR. Everyone laughed because i still have 4 VCRs. Guess i get the last laugh. Buy one online for $25.
Directv and others are NOT removing the channels, the greedy stations are. They want to charge providers for what they broadcast for FREE. You do NOT pay providers for those free channels. So you WANT those channels back…you know that you will then PAY for them right. CBS wants $7 per subscriber. Add ABC, NBC etc and your bill will go way up maybe even double…to get channels with crap programs. You want football… buy a ticket and go to the game.
The dispute is because nexstar wants more money for their local stations, if you want your bill to go up DirecTV will settle and raise rates to pay nexstar. You want a lower tv bill, tell directv to keep fighting. You want to know why you have so many channels and a high bill, only a few companies own so many channels, Viacom, Disney, Comcast, etc they dont just have a few networks they have 20+ each, and they sell them all as a package. AT&T which owns DirecTV now owns 30 of their own channels which will help keep their costs down and your bill stays lower. Every tv provider has to negotiate contracts with the network channel parent company and that factors in your monthly bill. DirecTV didnt pull the CBS channel, nexstar did to make you put pressure on directy to settle.
Get back cbs
I was looking for an way to get out of the 16 months I had left on my contract. As soon as they blocked the local broadcast channels, I called DIRECTV and told them because they broke the contract by not providing the local stations, I canceled the remainder of the contract. No questions asked. Good Luck, with your situation.
I understand what you’re saying about having a 2 yr contract with direct and wanting to cancelled due to not receiving stations on your original contract…I hardly see where direct would go to court to pursue the cancellation fee… it would cost them more to go after a couple hundred bucks with court costs and their attorney fees…
If you call AT&T they have a antenna they send you for free. Very easy to install and I get all my local channels and am even able to record them on my DVR. Thanks AT&T
Nexstar blames Atand t. They are both money hungry and do not care about the customer one bit.
It just sucks that it’s all about money for the companies and the consumer gets screwed
All large companies have their own attorneys so it dont cost them anything. Their only cost is if that particular court has a small filing fee. People sue all the time for less than $100 in small claims court.
Everyone should have their Directv account suspended and wait for stations to come back. Send a message.
I agree with Joanie as well we pay high dollar the 2nd year of our contract for them to drop channels we watch because they say they can’t come up with an agreement. Well with as much As they charge people to watch television that used to be free with an antenna they should be able to come up with an agreement instead of an excuse.. But Att owns them all Direct Tv Dish Att cell phones and all the other cell phones. With the cell phones there service sucks. But they still charge you and to get a good phone you have to spend over a grand. Only reason I have a cell phone is to check on family members when there not home. Families need to go back to how life use to be before cell phones and Internet. It’s taking away from family time. I’m over the greed of Att.
Yes DirecTV spam me because I don’t have all my local channels but still getting change for it and I feel much service is off because it is not suppose for me too get DirecTV again are something need too be done
I dont have cable service were i live and they dont plan on running cableblunes 1/2 mile. Im stuck with getting less of what im paying for. Its just wrong
I don’t have a 2year contract,and I know there are other providers that would love to take another customer from Direct tv and att,Direct tv hasn’t been worth a good since art bought them out
Did anyone else get a free antenna from AT&T to watch CBS?
I want to cancel DirectTV but I don’t want to loose the capacity to DVR shows when I am not home. If I were to get an outside antenna which would have 4 Tv’s on it what is the best one to get? How would you record shows when not home? Do you have to revert back to the VCR or is there a recording device that will work for the antenna (outside antenna)? I need HELP PLEASE!!!!
Yet again ill repeat myself. Directv does NOT charge you for your local channels…your not paying anything. Its free for subscribing to their service. They absorb the cost of paying those channels. The STATIONS/NETWORKS removed access to their channels to Directv…Directv did NOT remove any of them. Complain to your moneygrubbing local channel not DTV.
I do not work for DTV, but i do have their service. I dont care about not having NBC…they dont have any programming worth watching. Almost as bad is CBS. If i do want to watch them i get them over the air for free anyway.
Im surprised the liberal democrats arent blaming Trump for cutting the channels..lol.
I use to work for the cable company that Charter bought and I do realize how the programming works. Unless you know sometj8ng I d9 not know about CBS.com you have to pay them for all access. I already pay enough to watch my tv. I do not care to incurr additional fees. I want to go on an outside antenna and need to know how to record the channels when I am not home. If it is reverting back to VCR I will locate one. If there is a better technology to record to I would like to know what? Thank you for any help.
Ebay is a good vcr source. Ive also got good ones at local thrift stores for $10-$20. If you cant find blank tapes, just buy pre recorded movies used. I get those for 50 cents. Just put tape on the hole for the removed tab to prevent accidental recording.
Thank you so very much. I will check eBay. I have a whole box of VHS tapes with old recordings of my soaps on them. I can just record over them. As soon as I get a VC4 and antenna Direct TV is gone. I was just hoping there was some updated technology to record other than a VCR. Thank you!!
Theyre are DVD recorders that have a vcr also. You can then record on tape or DVD. Funai is the only one available now. Theyre generally pretty expensive though. Ive seen them from $200 up to $1000 . I got a used Toshiba one recently for $250 online. Be carefull to get one with on board tuner. They do also sell them with no tuner so you wouldnt be able to record easily over the air. With no tuner you would also have to hook it up via a converter box to get digital signal so it can be done, but a hastle. The side benefit to those is you can copy old tapes to DVD or vice versa. You will not find a DVD combo recorder in any store…only online. Seen them at Amazon before.
I have a machine that records VHS to DVD. I have a VCR to use with it. I do transfers for peek so I do not want to disconnect that VCR. Thank you again for your help.