Q. My husband and I are afraid that we won’t have our local CBS station when it comes time for the Super Bowl because DIRECTV is fighting with Tegna, who owns WUSA, channel 9. What do you think? How long will this fight last in your opinion? — Jenny, Bowie, Maryland.
Jenny, as you note, DIRECTV this week lost 60 Tegna-owned local TV stations due to a dispute over how much the satcaster should pay the broadcaster in carriage fees. The list of blacked out stations includes your CBS affiliate, WUSA-TV.
Update: DIRECTV & Tegna sign new carriage pact.
There’s no public barometer to indicate when the stations will return because the negotiations are done in private. However, both sides continue to blame each other in public statements, citing greed for each other’s primary motivation.
Despite the war of words, I strongly believe that the disagreement with be settled long before Super Bowl 55, which is scheduled to take place February 7, 2021 at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa; CBS, which includes WUSA-TV, will broadcast the game.
Click Amazon: See Today’s Holiday Sales!
In fact, I think the dispute will be resolved within the next week, and maybe even in the next 48 hours. I say that because both sides have strong motivations to end this quickly.
1. Tegna (and its network partners) desperately need DIRECTV’s subscriber base to boost its ratings during the holidays, which includes the final five weeks of the NFL season, not to mention other live sports such as college football’s bowl games. The networks are also planning a significant amount of holiday programming, and it will be partially wasted if the Tegna stations are not available on DIRECTV, which has roughly 15-16 million subscribers (although a smaller percentage of that is in Tegna markets). (AT&T’s U-verse, AT&T TV, and AT&T TV Now are also blacked out in this fight, which means more lost viewers.)
2. AT&T needs a quick resolution for a variety of reasons, but perhaps the paramount one is that the company is actively trying to sell DIRECTV now. It won’t help the company’s cause if subscribers start defecting because they can’t watch their favorite local channels. While it’s likely a large number of customers won’t cancel, even a small group of defections could make a complicated sale even more thorny.
So my guess is that we will see a rapid conclusion to this story. I may be wrong, but I have been covering these fights for years and I think I know a short-lived dispute when I see one.
Of course, the TV Answer Man will monitor this situation and report back here when new developments occur.
Until then, happy viewing, and stay safe!
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
I wonder if the Dish Network vs. Nexstar dispute will be resolved as speedily?
Knowing Dish…probably not!
Lots of people going to FTC soon
We need our local channel 13Wmaz and CBS we live out in the country have no other way to get this STATION by satellite .My husband is a Veteran and watches this channel regularly. Wish you could come to an agreement soon.miss these stations.please return them soon.
Maybe the viewers should boycott TEGNA’s stations &, send the ratings of its stations wsy down.
please put channel 10 back on the Air
I am so tried of this mess..I had two local stations off the air before this problem.
One station (Local) has been off for 3 months now. Tired of Dishes games.
I am DONE with Dish and is getting ready to cut the cord.
Think the Govt will step in ?
This is really a Public Utility
As much as we pay to have Direct TV, Dish or any other kind of cable networks, why are their disputes over who pays for local channels? It’s only 4 channels involved here!! Pay the fees and get on with it, stop making us do without!!
I am very upset becase i like football i had set my Tv to record Alabama and Lsu i do not know who won i hope it be back on before the Superbowl
STOP “riding the SHORT BUS” and D-U-M-P DIRECTV and AT&T…Put an outdoor antenna up OR, TRY an AMPLIFIED INDOOR antenna and tell DIRECTV to KISS your A** !!
They are SLOWLY going BANKRUPT and won’t be around in the future in any event so why stay and..DO NOT worry about your “contract” it is TOTALLY UNCOLLECTABLE and in NO way can they enforce it ! CANCEL your CC and tell them to F OFF !!
This is so ridiculous. With the price we pay for this service, to have to start losing channels because of the greed involved is not right.
You guys need to figure out how to fight your battle without affecting us the middleman. Guess it’s no big deal if your customers switch carriers. ALL these sattlelight carriers are a rip off anyway. I think its wrong we as the consumers are the affected ones. You’re not trying to prorate our bill for the inconvenience. We can’t go back and catch the loss programs we’ve missed. In the middle of a pandemic where all a lot of people have is tv. So unfair!
Leave it off long enough and we will move on to other stations. No one is replaceable and neither is any given station. There’s always something on somewhere. You should make the threats of losing stations inconsequential, then there would be no leverage in doing it.
Stay home they said. There is a pandemic they said. Catch up on your tv shows they said….Well, hard to do when the networks are missing. Know what is not missing? My bill! Which contniues to be the same! They are playing the game with those of us who have crappy internet that makes streaming impossible! They know they have us by the balls so to speak and honestly they dont give a crap!
You are so right! We pay a lot of money for directv and they are completely p—-ing me off! They don’t give a crap about us at all. I am definitely calling them to take money off my bill the greedy bast——!
I want my Channel 8 CBS back I pay a great deal of money to AT&T every single month and I should not have to suffer loss of this channel the first thing you need to just put the channel back on and fight with them that’s what you need to do you have to pay the extra money you will eventually charge it to us anyway
They can’t just “put it back on.” These cable companies sign contracts with the networks. When the contract expires, the cable co legally cannot air those stations. Until this is resolved, ATT has no option open to them as far as airing the stations.
I want WLTX channel 19 back on DirecTV. Missing all the great shows.
I want my Channel 9 back. Are the executives at Tegna & Direct TV loosing any of their channels. My bill came on time. I am over this. Stop holding the customers hostage because you can’t come to an agreement.
This is how I see it… I have been with Directv fro 27 years. I have subscribed to Netflix, Hulu live and Amazon Prime. Why continue with Directv if the shows, movies and even news is not broadcasting. Once Directv’s pockets begin to hurt it will be too late. I know friends that do not have dish and now I know why. God riddance!
Plus doing all this during Covid19 SUCKS!
We are the parents of a 35 year old quadriplegic son on life support. Daily he watches 11:00 Lets make a deal and 12:00 Price is right along with the other CBS programs. This means the world to him and we are requesting TEGNA to consider getting this issue resolved. This is hurting his ability to watch the programs he loves and it is all he can do. After the 51 surgeries, watching TV is his window on the world and taking out the channels is extremely disturbing to him. TEGNA (after research) made a huge amount of money in the last quarter and yet they want more? Why not consider what quadriplegics go thru whose lives are continually in isolation due to the fragile medical condition without the issue of Covid-19. We have Direct TV and are waiting for resolution He can not move, can not breath on his own, and is extremely medically fragile. Can you please get this resolved on behalf of a quadriplegic child?
Thanks for your insight. Here we are 4 days later and the channels haven’t been restored yet. Any updates?
Trying to do updates every day on our Home page.
PLEASE GET DIRECTTV AND TEGNA TO SETTLKE DISPUTE WE ARE MISSING ALOT OF SHOWS AND THIS HAS TO END
I’m a long-time customer of DIRECTV and AT&T and disappointment that they can’t come to an agreement and now they want us to get a little cast and pay for it but we pay for it already you need to do something quick dude please I want my today show back in WTHR I miss Chuck locked him in the today show thank you
I WAS a lot HAPPIER with the BIG dish and could pick the satellite I WANTED to watch. No matter where the channel was from. More competition lower prices and better service. I also have over the air antenna. WAS happy with that also until they had to move to different frequencies. I lost 50 out of 60 channels. I can’t find them. Give me a bigger booster so I can reach 500 miles I’ll be HAPPY with it again.
I sincerely hope this doesn’t anger anyone. But I said then and I’ll dare say it now. The more we allow them to group the channels the way they want and the bigger they get and the more government decides who succeeds and who fails the LESS HAPPIER AND MORE BROKE WE WILL BE. Just my opinion not necessarily that of Dish, Direct tv, AT&T, the TV answer man, any HOA or any of their affiliates or anyone who disagrees with me no matter where I say.
Hope this gives food for thought.
Fred
McDonough. Ga
Please act like responsible adults and end this dispute on direct TV. We the customers are the ones suffering not the millionaires that own the channels.
Enough is enough. With everything that is going on in the country right now, put money aside and think about your customers for a change. There are people losing their jobs, healthcare, and homes and you all are thinking about how much richer you can get. End this dispute now.
Yesterday evening, I just went ahead and paid the $5.50 to Locast, to watch my currently blacked-out NBC affiliate on the DirecTV receiver, without any interruptions form Locast to ask for donations. There may be a video hit after you activate it that sends the program back a second or two, but it seems to go away and after that, it’s basically like watching the satellite feed. For a month, it’s totally worth it. And since DirecTV is offering $10 monthly refunds right now, you’re actually coming out ahead. (and, as a bonus, you may be interested in some of the digital channels not available on DirecTV). Two words of caution: you must have a receiver current enough to activate the TV Apps (of which Locast is now a part). And I strongly recommend paying the $5.50 donation through PayPal. Locast indicates that it’s an ongoing, monthly fee — and provides a renewal date (in my case, January 10th), but you can easily just delete the account from PayPal the day before– assuming this ridiculous dispute is resolved by then. Cheers.
I should have added the cities (DMA’s) where Locast is available. Sorry:
Atlanta
Baltimore
Boston
Chicago
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
Houston
Indianapolis
Los Angeles
Miami
Minneapolis
New York
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Puerto Rico
Rapid City
San Francisco
Scranton
Seattle
Sioux City
Sioux Falls
Tampa Bay
Washington DC
West Palm Beach
I took your advice and called DirecTV. Asked them about the $10 refund. They didn’t give me the $10 refund….they gave me a $20 refund and they are sending me a free digital antenna overnight. I am also using Locast. Thanks for the tip.
Did you ask for the digital antenna or did they offer it to you? Thanks!!
They are already making so much money on commercials! isn’t 15 min. of every hour enough for these greedy ……….!
I;M WITH EVERYONE ELSE, LET’S GET THIS ISSUE RESOLVED SO WE CAN GET BACK TO WATCHING CBS. CBS MAKES ENOUGH MONEY, WHY ARE THEY MAKING THE PEOPLE SUFFER. THIS HAS ALLREADY BEEN A TERRIBLE YEAR WHY ARE THEY MAKING IT WORST.
Well, still not settled. Directv has been a mess and terrible customer service ever since AT&T bought them. I’ll be glad to have them sell and see if it improves. Otherwise, it’s time to cut the cord!
Oh, yes and I just got a rate increase notice from Directv that most services are going up $5-8 a month. Time to ditch Directv!!
Shame on both entities… during the time of Covid 19, and the Christmas Season, to suddenly decide to NOW we’ll be greedy !!?
Why don’t you as the so called answer man, give these folks the website/email of these greedy bastards at both AT&T and Tegna… after all it ONLY about the money… it ALWAYS about the money!!
But wasting time sending you a message is as futile as talking to the trees.. which is why I’m ceasing doing so…
I have had Direct Tv for years and what they are doing is outrageous. I have lost both 25 WJXX and 12 WTLV which is ABC and NBC. The stations have been out since 12/1/20 and I’m tired of it. These are the stations I watch all the time so I’m paying for a service I can’t use. They need to get together and stop hurting their subscribers.
The only news I watch is KPNX-Phoenix. NBC affiliate. Most of my favorite TV shows are on NBC. Last news release was 1 week ago stating dispute should be resolved within week. NOT!
Get your stuff together people. We already pay.
Ok this “dispute “ has gone on for 2weeks now! I’m paying for local channels and I would like to get them! On my locals CBS is the only one I really watch! My daily Soaps, my comedy, and the CBS national news! PLEASE GET THIS SETTLED!
2 weeks old and still no agreement and still loss of channels. Tired of missing hometown football games of Cleveland Browns. Getting ready to jump ship with Direct tv
Called Direct TV with only a Locast Reccomendation,..More fees and a Tipical Greedy Tegna,..taking advantage of the stopping showing the Christmas Shows the customers really like!..ABC, NBC, especially and Fox next,..Greed, Greed, Greed!.
DUMMIES, YOU ARE LOSING MONEY WHILE FIGHTING OVER MONEY, HOW STUPID IS THAT?
Don’t you people make enough money???? With all that’s happened this year, you have added to the stress of staying home. CBS is the station I watch the most. GET YOUR S%#! TOGETHER!!!!!
DirecTV & NFL Sunday Ticket subscriber for years. We live rural & can only get good TV service a few ways. We cannot access CBS channel 5, San Antonio, which will air the Dallas Cowboys tomorrow & which will air the super bowl in February. I watched DirecTV remove channel 35 for months. This is ridiculous.