DIRECTV this Monday could lose approximately 60 local TV stations due to a carriage dispute with their owner, Tegna Broadcasting.
The stations have posted notices at their web sites that their signals could be pulled from DIRECTV on Monday at 8 p.m. ET. (AT&T’s U-verse could also lose Tegna stations in the markets it serves; AT&T owns both DIRECTV and U-verse.)
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Updated: Tegna said Sunday night that it has agreed to a temporary extension with AT&T, pushing the deadline to Tuesday, December 1, at 7 p.m., ET.
“We have agreed to a temporary extension through Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. to keep our station on DIRECTV and AT&T U-Verse as we continue to work to reach new agreements. We promise to keep you informed as we make every effort to resolve this situation and keep our station on the air,” the Tegna statement reads.
Update #2: DIRECTV Loses 60 Tegna Stations In Carriage Fight
The Tegna stations are in such large markets as Washington, D.C., San Diego, Denver, Phoenix, Tampa, New Orleans, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, St. Louis as well as mid-size areas such as Austin, Texas, San Angelo, Texas, Macon, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida, among others. To see a complete list of the Tegna stations, click here.
AT&T has issued a statement at its web site that criticizes Tegna for alerting its viewers that they could lose their local channels while negotiations are still ongoing.
“We’re disappointed to see TEGNA put our customers into the middle of private negotiations. We want to keep the TEGNA stations in our local lineups. Yet by law, TEGNA has exclusive control over which homes are allowed to receive either ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, or CW in certain cities, regardless of what provider they choose,” the AT&T statement reads.
AT&T does not specify why the two sides are quarreling, but Tegna says AT&T is rejecting terms that even Dish, a known carriage warrior, have accepted.
“We cannot speak for DIRECTV or AT&T U-Verse. But here is what our audience should know: WTLV and WJXX are committed to reaching fair, market-based agreements with all the video service providers in our area. Our track record proves it. Over the past few years, we reached hundreds of multi-year deals with cable and satellite companies all across the country, including DISH, Comcast and many others. It has been disappointing that DIRECTV and AT&T U-Verse, so far, have refused to reach an agreement,” Tegna’s web states.
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However, it’s worth noting that Dish’s agreement with Tegna in 2018 came after a several-hour blackout of the Tegna stations. Dish and Tegna engaged in a blackout dispute in 2015, too.
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This nonsense has gone on all too long. They (distributors and broadcasters) fight and we loose without even being in the skirmish.
Congress in their infinite wisdom created this mess. First with their gift of airwaves and territorial rights. What other business has a totally protected region/area?
They could end all of this madness. Demand true “must-carry” rules. Allow local stations the right to remain, without compensation to the carriers, and the sat/cable/net must carry all regularly licensed broadcast signals.
Or they could end this silly system all together. allow the networks to work directly with the carriers.
I know you’ll say but what about the local stations? They may actually be required to broadcasts something the general public wants to watch.
These “sweetheart deals” between politicians and tv for cheap airtime during campaigns and keeping the status quo for all the broadcasters does nothing for the public at large.
In my reading of the English language, “must carry” means must carry!
Direct TV please do what ever is necessary to keep my local ABC & NBC & CBS stations broadcasting out of Sacramento California. It’s just not fair to take away our favorite programs & local news. I feel like you are holding us hostage by threatening to take our favorite programming away.
You said, “…please do what ever is necessary…” Does that include raising YOUR bill $60 a year for something they broadcast for FREE ??? Who paid you to post this?
Get an antenna… you do not need DirecTV or Cable but, I think they are obligated to provide the local stations.
Diirect Tv please leave or local channel WTLV alone
Please keep wusa it’s the local channel that I watch the most so don’t take it away
Please do whatever is necessary to keep cbs on.We depend on them for our local news.
Continue my DirectTV WBIR, NBC And ABC Channels or you are going to lose a lot of customers.
DITTO
Congress do you hear us ?
I get so fed up with this stuff. We pay out the nose for tv and then they delete whatever they choose. STOP MESSING WITH THE STATIONS OR GIVE US TV FOR FREE! I WILL LEAVE YOU IN THE DUST!
I swear I am sick of this crap that goes on about every year with these rip off cable\satellite companies! I’ve been with Direct TV for 2 months and already having to deal with this crap! I will drop them as fast as I’ve dropped other cable\ satellite companies and you will reimburse me my money or else! Sick of the crap!! DO NOT drop ABC, CBS or NBC!! I pay out the nose now for for what you say is “a Deal” bull if you get 250 channels the same program is on 247 of them! I’m serious about this, Direct TV is going to end up with a lawsuit!!
I agree with you Kay Yeager.
I agree with all comments. I am sick of losing the stations I like to watch. Do whatever necessary to keep these stations on or I will find another carrier!
I pay over $350.0 a month it really is two much b hi t I bear it. Enough is enough. If this is aloud I will renege on my contract and will not honor any adjustments that they will offer me. The antenna that they supply for local channels are a joke. They only gives u about 5 different ABC channels no NBC and no CBS in my area. But u get a fair channels of old black & white channels with old movies & old sitcoms….Boring
We r 82 years old and channel nine is our favorite channel please come to an agreement so we don’t lose our favorite channel Thank You
Norman and Alma Hackel
Please end this conflict and keep all channels available to the customers please !!!!
So local areas will not have some major networks as TEGNA tries threatening and likely actually taking stations off the air as as a negotiation tool. Consumers lose.Cable will pass the higher costs to consumers, Yes this is an example of action Congress should take, but they are not likely to do it if they can’t even help those that can’t work due to the pandemic from losing homes, evictions for not paying rents or putt food on the table. 1 of 6 Americans is not sure how they will get food to eat but the elected politicians are on vacation, again. They just fight and grandstand for their.”base”, They can’t agree to meet even those basic needs in a crisis, I am not getting my hopes up that they will do anything except grandstand for the camera or alternatively go to ground so they won’t have to hear how disgusted with them the public is.
I left direct because all you do is take channels away but every time I got my bill it went up every month. I have had direct 2 times and both times it was the worst company I have ever dealt with. You will keep loosing customers because att and direct isn’t out for their customers all they want is your money and give terrible service. The customer service is rude and is not there to help you unless you pay them for something I will never use att or direct for tv or phone. They need to get it together before they loose every customer they have. I would go without tv before I would trust them again. They messed it up twice and I’m done with both.
Amen to what she said.
If they cut off my local station I will cut them off.
I agree, the amount I pay monthly, if you cut the channels, I feel I kniw longer need you. I undetstand if I cut out Direct TV, I am obligated to pay them $20 a month for 9 months. I will find a way not to pay this. We made a contract, you expect me to live up to my end, well I expect the same from you.
I’ll just shut down the tv altogether
I agreed to a specific contract I left Dish network for exactly the same behavior so if you cut my locals I will
Also shut down my tv and my phone service with AT&T
Sue me I look forward to It!
I watch TV with antenna reception. I also need a converter box because i have an old TV.
Reception is not all that good, especially when there is a airplane traveling through my reception. My remote control for my converter has buttons that don’t work any more.
All was good till the other day when I lost channel 3 CBS. Did everything I know how, to get it back, no luck.
I’m on SS and half of that goes to my mortgage. I know how to live within my means. But why take away things that are supposed to be free?
Direct TV looses channel 10 CBS that’s it for me. I’m getting fed up with Direct anyways. Every other month the bill jumps up $5,00 or more. I’m on a very fixed income and I’m getting dam tired having to call repeatly to see what discounts they can give me. I live where I can only get Direct, A Senior citizen and I think I’m being taken advantage of. I’ve had them for about 10 yrs.
Sandra, I could not have said it any better! Well, here we go again with the squabble over the contract agreement, and in the meantime, the viewers ( which by the way are your Customers) are the ones that get the brunt end of this price agreement bickering. Not only do your customers suffer from losing their local News channel that we depend on watching, which by the way, WE are paying for, but in the end, whatever agreement you come to, I’m sure you will pass it on to your customers anyhow as you have in the past. Category: Recovery Cost!!?
Sandra I’m in exactly the same disastrous situation as you are – fixed income widowed senior female citizen. Cbs8 and CW in San are my local stations for updates on wild fires, covid19 and you name it. At&t has been the worse thing to have happened in buying out DirecTV. My monthly bill is horrendous and they keep taking channrls away but no compensation in bill just goes up for less coverage. I have been with company after company that buys out who k have for over 30 years starting with Primestar. I too call for discounts but AT&T is like pulling teeth to appreciate long standing customers. This losing station HAS TO STOP.!!!
Every year or so, we go through this same childish nonsense. For five years, AT&T would not carry the Hallmark Channel, because of a contract dispute; last year, it suspended the NBC local stations for several months. It never even informed its customers when the station was available! Its business practices are disreputable. To paraphrase what Clark Gable stated at the end of the movie “Gone With the Wind”————“Frankly, they don’t give a d—“.
I could care less. I have a roof top antenna & the picture is 10x better than directv get about 20 channels.
we watch mostly Turner Classic , Sports, a few HGTV type shows, although we do watch OPB mysteries
Who still watches network nitwit TV? Except for NFL, it’s all trash, especially news and late night. Glad I have Sunday Ticket, NFL network, and dvr!
Sorry if I offended any nitwits out there. Looks like the Twitter censors screen comments here too.
With the pandemic and people staying home, this latest threat by AT&T and DirecTV to end airing local stations is just adding to the confusion and stress. There are people who depend on local stations for weather and health updates. Get over yourselves, AT&T/DirecTV. You act like a bunch of spoiled kids. It’s all about the money to you and you make plenty. It’s obvious you care nothing about your customers as proven by your lack of customer service and the fact that you cried foul when the local stations alerted customers of impending actions.
I too am a senior on a fixed, low income. I have had to call Direct TV so many times in the past year for increasing invoices that I have not been responsible for but ultimately have to pay for. Now, they have taken WKYC away (NBC) for negotiating tactics and I have no recourse! My bill went up again this month and last and I’m stuck. I can’t sue, I can’t afford another cable company, and i can’t afford to go without TV. I’m so Damn disgusted, especially with AT&T!
I am hoping that both DIRECT TV & TEGNA can settle their differences before we lose our favorite stations. We pay as required for our Direct TV & would hope that differences can be settled so we can continue using Direct TV. I would hate to think that we as customers would have to consider changing our DIRECT TV to something else unless that is what TEGNA is wanting. PLEASE come to an agreement before Monday.
We were so looking forward to the new season of Blue Bloods on Channel 10. So much has been cancelled during these stressful times. Hopefully AT&T and TEGNA can come to an agreement that is satisfactory to all.
I just happened upon this article and breathed a relaxed sigh of satisfaction because I cut the cable a year ago and have never looked back. I use an inexpensive antenna to get free local stations and streaming services to get anything else I want. I spend about $20 a month on TV, watch everything I want (which is a lot) and save $1,000.00 per year over what I used to pay. Cutting the cable is the BEST way to force change.
You are lucky, we are surrounded by trees and can’t use an antenne
KEEP MY STATIONS!
I would hope direct tv can and will come to an agreement to keep channel 19. Always something to deal with. If not bad service then it is a rate increase. Work this out please
AT&T quit messing with your loyal customers. Reach an agreement so that we do not lose our channels/programs.
I love the people who are “Just keep the channels” and then in the next sentence complain that their bill goes up every few months.
Newsflash: If they “just keep the channels” your bill is going up every few months.
it is ashame that everytime you turn around the cable co want to take away the very thing that keeps people save in their homes and prevent the spread of the virus. the cost of cable has been going up and up every time you blink an eye. please keep the channels and maybe just maybe direct tv could keep their customers. the rich should not getrocher but the little guy needs a chance to live a less stressful life
I am known as a “loyal” customer for being with Directv for over 10 years, but I won’t be anymore if they take away the channels that I watch.Please come to an agreement to keep what we have and not put customers in the middle. These days there are other places to go and I will
Another local channel lost. Another customer gone.
I have DirecTV from Sacramento, Ca. Channel 10 ABC. I have read the threats about no longer having that channel available Nov 30th because you have sole control over the station. Well, “SHAME ON YOU”. We, the people, have suffered enough during this horrible pandemic and just because you are greedy and want a few more bucks, you are going to hold us hostage, once again. Over the years,this scenario has been played out time and time again. These difficult times call for decency and caring for your fellow humans. For all that are in control, remember, you will be judged when you meet your maker.
It is very frustrating to.not have Input when you are going to lose your local stations!! Hopefully an agreement can be reached. We just had this problem with AT&T last year. It might be time to change to Spectrum!, Rich
Direct Tv and At&T Uverse, Please keep all these channels; NBC, ABC and CBS!! It’s not fair to us people to have to pay a huge amount for our cable bill if you take all these channels away!! We need our local news and weather channels and they are very important!! Make a deal with Tegna Pronto!!
I stayed with direct tv because I like my wireless tvOS . I will be changing to cable. I have my internet from spectrum so I wii actually be saving money.
Please negotiate a settlement to keep our San Diego
Channels. Especially in the middle of a pandemic when everyone is home. Do the right thing!!!!
If Direct TV takes Chanel 11 CBS off of the new work we Will Drop Our Service with Direct TV! JMoses@JSFoods.com
I’ve been with Direct TV for years.Was with them before AT&T purchased them, the service was much ,much better. AT&T are the worst company there is.Everytime I turn around they are raising the cost of their service. I will discontinue my service and return to an antenna for local news and shows These companies are just greedy,greedy,greedy.
Direct TV. You new about to lose a customer.! stand by
After repeated price hikes, we dumped DirecTV last month for Hulu Live at one-third the price. AT&T has lost 25% of DirecTVs customers since taking them over (25 million -> 18 million), arguments like this are likely part of the reason. I’m thankfully less than 5 miles from the area broadcast towers so even if Hulu has issues with Tegna I have a cheap antenna to pick the stations up with. Somebody needs to step in to stop these issues; the locals are losing customers to streaming and trying to make it up by jacking up rates to the cable/satellite companies. At some point something’s gotta give.
It is not AT&T or Direct or Dish , but the greedy bastards at Tegna, the CEO in 2019 received over $950 K salary and over 1 M in bonus, what more does he want
On top of all that is happening this year…you cant seem to understand that all people have is their favorite programs or some diversion..bug business sucks the life out of us!
Here we go again! Tegna and Direct TV in a contract dispute!! Who’s getting hurt?
The little old consumer!! This consumer is getting tired of paying big bucks for cable and then having our local news and network shows threatened.
Please remember that the consumers in this country can make or break any business especially in this year of the pandemic!
So get this settled!!
With all the other streaming possibilities, Direct TV/ATT may find itself out of luck and out of customers!!!!
You know who gets hurt by all this BS? Local advertisers who lose eyeballs because of the greed of station owners. In a time where local businesses need all the help they can get, they get screwed by the very people they spend money with. Nicely played boys…
DON’T take my news source away.
This is communism straight up. We pay enormous bills for directv and AT&T to have them threaten its users .so not right. So we need to sue to end this.
Time to look into other places been with At&t too long they keep raising prices for less channels time to change
Please leave WUSA9tv alone get rid of ATT service has been terrible since they came on board go back to just Directv ATT go back to your telephone service
Losing the local channels that are free is ridiculous. I’ll get rid of direct tv and just go with the local stations like I did for years. Most of what I watch on cable are old repeats. I guess I could find something with all that time.
Do not pull our local stations from us. This is so unfair to loose stations that air favorite programs. The cost to have ATT U-Verse is so expensive and continues to go up in price. Now this. Something needs to be done to help us, the consumer. Stop this from happening..
First we lose Channel 8 and now we lose channel 13??? This is ridiculous. I have been a Direct TV customer since 1995, so it looks like I will be changing soon, if this doesn’t get worked out. With staying home during these trying times, we really thought we could at least count on our television to be there for us. Really SAD….
Get the Locast app-it is free and you can have your local channels.
Locast is not available in my viewing area
Below are the cities it’s available. You can get it in Puerto Rico but no Sacramento. ?
Atlanta
Baltimore
Boston
Chicago
Dallas
Detroit
Denver
Houston
Indianapolis
Los Angeles
Miami
Minneapolis
New York
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Puerto Rico
Rapid City
San Francisco
Seattle
Sioux City
Sioux Falls
Tampa Bay
Washington DC
West Palm Beach
Wilkes Barre-Scranton.
It is past time that you both stop playing the “Blame Game”. The loyal viewers, who by the way, pay your salaries, are the ones being held hostage while you play tit for tat. You are inflicting needless pain on top of a world pandemic situation. SHAME ON YOU ~!~
I agree with you 100%!! They need to stop playing these games with us and come to a compromise and keep all the channels! They’re getting a lot of $$ from their customers and could lose many if this happens! Everyone needs the local channels always and especially during the pandemic!!
Get the Locast app for streaming local channels and it is free!
We’ve never before experienced the loss of a local network station. If nothing else, this shows tremendous disrespect for the late Alex Trebeck. His show will only be shown through December. Now we are forced to miss that, along with so many other great shows. What a boondoggle!
This is ridiculous. Greedy politicians, greedy corporations and we’re all their pawns. Find another way to play your stupid games but leave my local network stations alone!
First Directv can’t come to an agreement with the Pac12 channel now they can’t work with the local channels. I think Directv might me the problem. I’ve been a customer for years but that might change.
ATTN: Tegna, AT&T/DirecTV. This is my Christmas wish for you all. “May the Fleas of a thousand camels infest your crotch, and may your arms be too short to scratch it”. You are all getting coal in your stocking. Explain that to your kids Christmas morning. Grinch’ on Steroids.
My older sister and her mentally and physically handicapped daughter live with me. My son is always telling me to drop directtv. There is no way either of them could or would learn to use a streaming service. I got the free 7 day CBS all access for now and hope they Direct tv gets their act together soon!
Why is it necessary to take away our stations while they negotiate? It’s like blackmail, and we consumers get hurt. I will be missing my programs today. It appears that this happens every year.
For all the money that people pay for Direct TV there should NEVER be local channels taken off!!! Will Direct TV reimburse us for the money we pay for this blackout?? Doubt it!!! May take other peoples advice and get rid of it! Heck half the channels on there are so useless anyway!! You should be able to choose the channels you want and create your own guide.
So, during this Covid period, with people quaranteeing those thieves cut channels that we have already paid for.
I’m ditching these fools.
Of COURSE DTV and ATT don’t want ‘us’ to know. Greedy Pirates on BOTH sides with those who pay the bills left dangling.
I’ll be going elsewhere for this if not settled in 24 hours. HAH! Like they card.
I also want ALA CARTE programming so I can just buy the 20 channels I want without all the stuff I have NO interest in……I agree with ‘M’, above
In years past, my Sirius /XM stations just Disappeared without comment. Profit increase for DTV who no longer paid for ’em. Now? Here we go again, only this time with stuff that is more…..’visible’……
This is absurd, money grubbing blackmail. The local network coverage should be a mandatory provision. I hate the provider options I have – Directv, comcast.
First world problems.
TEGNA should actually be blasted for increasing their rates at a time when the world is in peril due to COVID. Back off you greedy bustards! You already get paid through commercials.
It is as plain as the nose on your face. Tegna, AT&T/DirecTV do not give a flying rip about the consumers. They sit in their overstuffed chair, behind their mahogany desk, collect their exorbitant salaries without as much as a Thank You or Kiss my A** . They not only stab us in the back, they gleefully twist the blade to inflict pain on top of pain. Come judgement day, they will all have to answer to their “Maker”. They will pay for their bad deeds in the end.
THIS DOES NOT MAKE ANYSENSETO TAKETHESECHANNELOFF THE AIR FOR ALL THE MONEY WE HAVE TO PAY FOR THESECHANNEL THE WAY THE ECOMICIS CHARGING CUSTOMER ALL THIS MONEY BECAUSE YOU ALL CANNOT COME TO AGREE YOU ALL NEED TO TAKE THE CUSTOMER IN TO CONCIDER
I am changing to cable. Direct TV and Dish are bad services.
PLEASE SETTLE YOUR DISAGREEMENTS, WE PAY ENOUGH FOR OUR ATT UVERSE AND NOT TO GET THE CHANNELS WE WANT TO WATCH. OUR FAVORITE SHOWS THAT WE SAVE TO THE DVR CANNOT BE WATCHED AND ALL WE SEE IS THIS STUPID BLUE SCREEN ABOUT TEGNA! FIX IT
I plan to change my provider. Very dissatisfied with direct tv/at &t. Ridiculous prices and taking channels away.
I wonder if I will get my money back because of lack of service for this senseless display of blame – which by the way helps no one, except to tick people off. You wan’t loyalty, fix this behind the scenes. I don’t really care what either side points the finger at, ultimately the customer (you do remember who the customer is, don’t you?) pays the bill. Death by a thousand cuts, as any one customer does not make or break you, but lots and lots of them do if you keep screwing around with them.
I have had DirecTV for years, but since it was taken over by AT&T, it has gone downhill. I really dislike Dish, and I am not crazy about Comcast. Nevertheless, I think it is time for a change. Losing local channels is ridiculous especially when the price is so high! Give me a break!
We demand that you keep these stations. We are paying for those stations. And are Already paying too much for your service.
AT&T Direct TV should be ashamed. Forcing longtime customers to loose local broadcasts.
And then to add insult to injury, they throw us a bone by “letting” us watch Sunday night Football on the Spanish Channel.
Everyone should ban together an cancel their service and put them out of business.
direct tv is going to have to adjust my bill as i watch NBC channels daily. i have just requested an adjustment for the month of december.
Anyone know the address of Tegna? I have several dump trucks full of manure that needs to be delivered. They need to receive back what they are putting out. Karma Trucking Company.
Amen to that
It’s all about money for the big companies. They do NOT care about those of us paying the bills, only about how much they can bilk us, How about a refund for the times we don’t get the stations because of idiotic situations like this? Of course they won’t do that even though ATT and Tegna are filthy rich—prominent word there if FILTHY, as in filthy lucre. Once again the consumers get consumed by big business.
why does this monopoly, take at random , channels off we no longer get Oxygen also ABC & NBC We pay too much for such a pittance of service and fighting to win more profit at my expense ,on FIXED INCOME, is expected pf this company! This happens every year Tenga is not the bad guy.
when are you going to provide a service that you promiseed in your contract. This BS of renewing contract and taking channels off every other year is ridiculous. Fix the problem or you might end up out of business. people can only take so much garbage. it seems the only thing that you can do is raise the bills.
Tegna/AT&T/DirecTV, you people(and I use the term people loosely) have balls the size of Texas and brains the size of a pea. I receive a letter from DirecTV stating my bill was going to be increased $8.00 per month. I STILL DON’T HAVE MY CBS STATION BACK ON THE AIR AND YOUR RAISING THE PRICE ALREADY? You are all disgusting bags of pond scum. I hope Covid-19 bites you all in the A**.
Amen to that! I am so sick of AT&T raising prices and then removing local stations or even good ones!
I’ve been with ATT for quite a long time now in spite of their ever increasing fees! This is the final straw when I cant even see a local TV station that I used to get for free! Time to move on.
That is ridiculous. We live in Houston and khou 11 is the home channel that we watch our hometown football games and we cant even watch it. Many football games broadcast on this channel and in opt of the absense, Direct is not even temporary honoring NFLTV or NBA TV until this is resolved. Definately time to find a new cable provider.
I guess all the money we overpay for our service is making it much easier to want to look at other services. If I can’t get my basic local channels what good is your service?