Q. I lost my local channel in the DIRECTV and Tegna blackout. My question is should I get CBS All Access. If I do, will I be able to see my local channels that I’m missing? And if I get it, will I be able to watch it on my regular TV or will I need a different box to watch it? — Teresa, Greenbelt, Maryland.
Teresa, as you know, DIRECTV lost 60 Tegna-owned local channels in a carriage dispute that started on December 1. Dish lost 164 Nexstar-owned local channels just a day later in a separate fee fight. It’s unclear when the two spats will end so many viewers are now seeking alternatives to continue watching their favorite network affiliates.
Update: Dish & Nexstar sign deal; end blackout.
In your case, Teresa, DIRECTV is missing the Tegna-owned CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C. (WUSA-TV). And CBS All Access, which costs $5.99 a month, with a seven-day free trial, could be an ideal alternative until the parties work out their differences. (All Access also has a $9.99 a month plan with no commercials.) The streaming service provides a live feed of CBS affiliates in 99 percent of the United States, including WUSA-TV. You can see a complete list of supporting affiliates here.
In addition to the local CBS signal, CBS All Access provides an On Demand lineup from the Viacom library (Viacom owns CBS) including shows from CBS, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Smithsonian, BET and other channels. There’s also original programming only available on All Access including Star Trek; Discovery, The Good Fight, and the new Twilight Zone.
But take note: CBS All Access only provides a live feed of CBS stations. So if you are missing a NBC, ABC or Fox affiliate due to either the DIRECTV-Tegna fight or Dish’s fee fights with Nexstar, and a few other local broadcasters such as Mission Broadcasting, it won’t help you. You’ll have to try an antenna or Locast or another alternative.
However, there are numerous CBS affiliates on both the DIRECTV and Dish missing channel lists so All Access might be worth contemplating for many. (You can see a complete list of Tegna stations here and Nexstar stations here.)
To your question as to how you watch CBS All Access, it’s available on the following devices:
Apple TV
iPhone and iPad
Android TV
Android phone and tablet
Chromecast
Fire TV
Portal TV
PlayStation 4
Samsung TV
Vizio TV
LG TV
Roku
XBox
Xfinity Flex
If your Smart TV, or Smart TV device, isn’t on the list, you’ll have to invest in one that supports CBS All Access to watch it on TV. (You can also use a desktop or laptop to watch.)
Teresa, hope that helps. Happy viewing, and stay safe!
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— Phillip Swann
Do you see an end soon with the direct TV fight with yegna
I pay AT&T Plenty. If they can’t resolve the issue with Tegna, I will be leaving AT&T. They all are paid too much money!!!!!
Yes when Contract ends NEVER again with Direct TV or AT $ T.
We’ve had CBS All Access for a few years, whether we had tv or not,and we love it! We pay the $5.99 a month or pay by year. If you watch a lot on CBS then I reccomend it. They also have live CBS tv channels on there as well.
Just get a Roku it has everything. Become a prime member and you have access to a million channels .
Can you RECORD programs on Roku like with a DVR ?
A better answer would be is to pay the early termination fee with AT&T Directv & upgrade to Spectrum Cable with no contracts
I couldn’t agree more, this is getting old real fast!!! I just receive my Bill for December, which means AT&T Prices have increased. WOW
Money all greed.
A person pays all this freaking money & they take the freaking channels from a person, what the hell?
Its more cbs some what access, since most shows don’t have any episodes available.
Hey, Mr. Answerman! I thought you said you were making television easy again!!! 😉
If local stations were designed to be free, why are companies being blackmailed millions of dollars to access free stations?
Some smart attorney’s need to file class action suites to force these outrageous charges back to what they are worth. There is a large percentage of viewers who watch channels free and those just out of range pay for their free viewing and our viewing. Guess what ABC, I haven’t had access for months and I’ve found there are more than enough programs I wasn’t watching that are as good or better than what I’m missing. Network tv is dying. The quality can’t compete with shows produced for streaming companies. And I would not have realized this if ABC hadn’t been so greedy!
Have you noticed LMN schedules, Psycho Nurse, Psycho Neighbor, Psycho Teacher,, Psycho Cheerleader, Psycho Doctor, and on and on. Hallmark regurgitates same
stories, new title. 15 identical medical, police, or fireman show.
Threaten all you want. More and more people will switch to companies where their is talent and variety.
Besides, working people have limits to what they can watch if they also want a social life.
I do believe this can and should be solved if you wanted it to . We pay our part to get this . Now we can’t get it because you cant stop a school house fight . Like 2020 isn’t bad enough ,stuck at home and i can’t watch my favorite station
The new world of TV is getting ridiculous. The future looks very expensive.
Killed off DirecTV due to this nonsense. Was paying $188/month. Now have YouTube TV which gives me everything we were watching for $65/month. DirecTV lost a 22-year customer.
This answer is wrong. I have att tv now which has lost the cbs station. When I try to access cbs live on my cbs all access app, it tells me it is unavailable due to the current fight.
Try it through a separate app. It’s available in your area via other providers so there’s no area wide blackout.
No I don’t think so. It’s because Nexstar will pull the same thing with this company.
can i get a refund from Directv for not providing the services i contracted for. My contract is with Directv not Tegna. So their dispute is not my problem. The only reason i still have Directv is for the local channels.