Q. I come to your site every day to look for updates on DIRECTV and Tegna. I’ve really enjoyed your articles. So is there anything new on whether they will settle? I have been without my channel 9 in the Washington area for weeks now. Is there any hope at all? — Maureen, Bowie, Maryland.
Maureen, let me first thank you for your kind words and support. As you know, DIRECTV lost 60 Tegna-owned local stations on December 1 due to a fight over how much the satcaster should pay to carry their signals. (The blackout also affects the AT&T-owned U-verse, AT&T TV and AT&T TV Now.)
Update: DIRECTV & Tegna sign new carriage pact.
I’ve provided regular reports on viewing alternatives as well as any indicators on when the fee fight will be settled. At this point, there is no sign that an agreement is imminent. And I think I can safely speculate that there won’t be a deal at least until Saturday or Sunday, if then. The next round of NFL games on Sunday could act as a trigger for more fruitful talks. In past disputes between broadcasters and pay TV providers, the Sunday morning before 1 p.m. kickoff has been a popular time to announce a new carriage pact.
That said, there are a few interesting developments that suggest both sides need to treat this dispute with more urgency.
The Buffalo News reported yesterday that there’s evidence that the blackout hurt the local Buffalo ratings for the Bills-Steelers game on last Sunday’s Sunday Night Football game, which aired on NBC. (The Buffalo NBC affiliate, WGRZ-TV, is owned by Tegna and therefore now blacked out on DIRECTV.) Buffalo’s rating for the game was lower than Pittsburgh’s rating, and lower than it has been for previous Bills games this year.
“Because of a retransmission dispute between the owner of Channel 2, Tegna, and DirecTV, the station is off the satellite service. That could potentially reduce the station’s audience and therefore its rating by 15% to 20%. If you add 15% to 20% to Channel 2’s rating, Buffalo would easily defeat Pittsburgh,” the story notes.
If other Tegna stations are seeing similar declines, the broadcaster may need to lessen its demands. The company’s mission to generate more revenue starts to lose steam if you’re losing it another way. (Advertising dollars are based on ratings.)
Update: The Houston Chronicle reports today that the Houston Texans’ games are also showing a ratings dip, possibly due to the Tegna blackout.
Likewise, DIRECTV’s subscribers seem to be getting angrier every day, if social media posts are any indication. Many of them say in their comments that they plan to cancel service if a deal is not signed soon.
It’s easy to say things on social media, but the longer the blackout continues, the more likely some subscribers will act on their threats.
The TV Answer Man will continue to monitor this dispute and report back here if and 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 am really tired of satellite tv taking my local channels in Indianapolis. If I don’t get a few back I’m switching to antenna tv. It just baffles my mind that you cannot come to an agreement . How much money do you really need?
Right on! I’m with u. My direct tv bill is almost as high as my car payment.
I called Direct TV and expressed my concerns. They sent me an antenna so I could get local channels. It was FREE and I received it the very next day. I now have my local news channel. Set up was a little complicated, but I figured it out. It will only work with a Genie receiver and MUST be plugged into the MAIN Genie receiver. Once set up. You’ll get your local channels on all your TV with receivers.
Hi Phillip. I mentioned this in a few comment threads last week, before realizing you had referenced it in one of yours, but I’ll say it again: all of the approximately 50% of DirecTV subscribers served by Locast should register for the service, and (within a day or two at most) pay the $5.50 to stop Locast’s own commercial breaks for a month. We’ve been using it daily to watch our NBC affiliate in my metropolitan area, and other than a few instances of buffering, it’s worked great. You can scream and yell and threaten to cut the cord, but to me this is a much easier temporary solution. I think it should be promoted thusly. Thank you for updating us on the dispute.
if you have a Samsung SmartTV Locast not accepted. I got a Roku stick to watch local news. Will stop DirectTV in January if this isn’t solved… I HAVE NO TV STATIONS AT ALL!!!
I have directv in Minneapolis KARE11 NBC and on my directv boxes they have an app called locast that allows me to open and stream kare11 for free, I have been able to watch Sunday night football, Saturday college games etc. All of kare 11, also locast works on my Roku tvs and such
I have DirecTV and on my guide where the NBC affiliate is, channel 8 in Portland, Oregon, i get a pop up message saying, looking for the Sunday night football game? tune in to channel 410 , Sure enough I get the game, although in Spanish. Doesn’t affect the video so it’s fine
I pay 163.00 per month and I am tired of paying that much and losing all the channels that we watch every day. They make enough money just from the money we pay them to watch cable. They won’t give any money back to the people, but we keep losing channels, why don’t you get off your BUTTS and do something, and stop taking money from senior citizens and other people. GIVE BACK THE CHANNELS OR LOWER OUR BILLS.
I am not happy. I am dumping Direct tv if I don’t get channel 5 back soon.
I am dumping Direct TV REAL soon if I dont get NBC channel 3 back in Ohio. Its been long enough.
Bought a $25 amplified HD Antenna at Target and connected it via AM21 DirecTV off-air tuner to my DirecTV Genie DVR via USB. Worked like magic, added dozens of new stations that integrated beautifully into my DirecTV program guide. Where Tegna station was before (Channel 9) – now there are 3 digital channels 9-1, 9-2, 9-3. Where PBS station was before WETA 26, now there are 5 beautiful HD quality channels.
Best thing is – all the secondary mini-genie receives can access the program guide for WUSA-DT and all the new over-the-air channels across multiple rooms in the house.
Thanks bud
I am really interested in this solution, but have no idea what that all means. Can you break it down a bit for me?
Can you “RECORD & REWIND” like you can with the Genie ?
What is a “via21 DirecTV off air turner” ?
Where is the “USB” Plug on the Genie ?
You can pause and rewind. Like you are used to. The off air tuner is the free antenna Direct TV sends to you for free, I believe. It gets plugged into your main Genie receiver in the back where the USB port is.
Answer man,
You spoke about Locast which is available for Tegna stations using the ~> arrow on your DirecTV remote, but you never spoke about the AM21 DirecTV tuner which is available on the market and works like magic with all the latest DirecTV receivers.
Discovered dozens of new local stations in the process.
If you want to lower your bill – call DirecTV Retention team and ask them for help, so you don’t leave as DirecTV customer. I did so yesterday and they added.a $45 credit to my bill for 12 months. That is over $500 savings a year!
What is a good phone number for TEGNA? I call my Station KARE daily and DirecTV but the bad boys don’t make it easy. Tired of being told to change all my systems to accommodate this stupid snit. Plus it’s our Jeopardy channel and THAT pisses me off
Jayne –
I am so angry and sad about missing the last days of Alex Trebek’s shows.
Christmas Day will be his last appearance. These heartless money mongers don’t care a bit what they are taking from us.
Thanks for the info,gave me some hope for a maybe soon settlement. I’m tired of waiting like many others,I miss my CBS soaps I taped every day.
Both DTV, and Dish need to crash and burn. The industry needs to remodeling. BTW, I love my striped down Orby TV.
Both DTV, and Dish need to crash and burn. The industry needs remodeling. BTW, I love my striped down Orby TV.
I am highly upset that I can’t see ABC World News Tonight & Good Morning America every day out of the Memphis Market. However, I received a nice local channel antenna from DirecTV today that was sent via UPS Overnight prioritiy as a result of our conversation yesterday. I am 90 miles from Memphis and unable to pick up local channels from here. I think DTV is doing everything they can to help its customers through this disruption and negotiations period. I’m a long time customer. And I sincerely appreciate their efforts to help however they possibly can during this trying time. Many thanks DirecTV!
Really missing channel 13 and remaining Jeopardy.
Then getting 99.00 dispatch one time charge. Wth is that?
Of course when I try to call they have system problems. Imagine that. Another note that fees going up.
President Bush tried to fix this Tegna take over of most TV stations but our congress and senate over road him. Again screwed by our government. Over air antenna works for us in dfw.
Just ditched my Direct TV. Hulu live is way better!
I watch my Az NBC station everyday…….I don’t care if Direct tv and Tegna have issues!!!!!!…..I pay Direct TV to deliver a product and it’s been 2 wks that I don’t have my channel 12!!!!!!!!!!……The better pro rate my bill for this month!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey Michael. I also live in the Phoenix area. I called DTV and got 3 free months of Sports channels, Showtime and Cinemax after I complained about losing channel 12. That’s about a $126 value for free. The squeaky wheel get the grease!
As paying customers we should all be given a discount or a credit on our bill. It’s only the fair thing to do. We’re paying for something that we don’t have full access to channels we can’t watch. Why should we have to suffer because they’re having a disagreement.
Yes I’m getting aggravated missing my shows I watch it on nbc in lenoir city Tennessee just aggravating
In my mind, TEGNA is the bully here. Their NBC signal is offerred free to viewers who don’t have cable or sat services such as Direct TV. Why do they think that they should be able to indirectly charge those of us who choose to use services such as Direct TV or Dish or cable companies for that matter. I am going to write directly to NBC and let them know that I intrend to boycott their network from now on. Although I am sure that they won’t really care.
Xfinity is sending out ads that are actually affordable and have all channels. I like many others are going to change providers in January if no agreement has been reached by then..
I agree with you! I will leave Directv also. I pay So Much Money and this is getting ridiculous!
So long Directv. You have screwed me for the last time
All services (cable and satellite) have dealt with the providers trying to increase rates, including Xfinity. While jumping from DirecTV to Xfinity may make you feel better, you lose your seniority with DirecTV and eventually will face the same type of blackouts due to disagreements between Xfinity and the provider du jour.
First, are you really missing anything? OTA broadcast is so bad these days. Second, I don’t understand why networks think they should be able to charge the satellite broadcasters for helping to increase their ratings.
We bought a Recast and connected it to an HD antenna. Getting all my channels again on my Firestick. I can record and rewind. The picture and color is even clearer than my Inverse cable!
I’m so close to changing to Spectrum
Thank you for your continued updates! Here in Mpls MN we have lost NBC Kare11. This is the #1 channel in our area. Your updates are really the only news I can find on a regular basis. I personally just switched to DirecTv and am undercontract with them….so this sucks!!
Well, this family is already researching alternet tv solutions. Even with Wi-Fi cost several internet tv providers are much cheaper. Been with Direct for 20 + years.
In addition to losing NBC, needless to say, 1 week was enough! I canceled DTV after being a customer since 1997!
I meant to add, my bill significantly increased in addition to losing NBC, so I had it. ✌
I think this is disgraceful, the way to world is struggling now you want to take away more things. Some people do not have the modern equipment to handle any changes. I think you all should be a shamed of yourself. Some people are already struggling and you adding to the stress. End this S—— now.
I have been a loyal customer for many years and should still be getting wkyc in my viewing area until at&T and tegna work out financial details Why should i suffer watching tv is about all i can at the age of 77 SOLVE the PROBLEM and get back to work
I’m dumping DirecTV in June when my contract is up – OTA antenna and streaming is the way to go now.. This is the 1st issue I have had with DirecTV blacking out a station due to a contract dispute. I had the same issues with Dish – which was worst than DirecTV. It always seemed Dish was blacking out a station once a month.
Many Americans who live in rural areas do not have access to high speed internet so streaming is out and we are to far from the stations for OTA antenna. So basically Directv has us hostage. BTW if you call Directv will give you a one-time $20 credit on your bill if your local station is blacked out.
I’ve lost all WFNY, CBS channels in Greensboro, NC, And I’m furious. I’ve missed nicks, blue bloods, wheel fortune, etc, my husband and I are seniors But especially now we’re housebound due to coronvirus, they really have some nerve with everything going on to be so greedy for money. If I don’t have my channel back soon, I’ll switch to spectrum.
We had already lost channel 8 and 23 in Indianapolis now we have lost channel 13. I m thinking about switching from. Directtv when my contract is up. What is OTA and how do I know if I have a genie receiver. Please some answer me
I believe OTA is over the air antenna (for local channels). You have to live within 20 miles of the tower for it to work with Direct TV free antenna. I think they have one for 50 miles. I live on 7 hilly, all woods acres, and 18 miles away from nearest tower and it works perfect! You have nothing to loose by calling Direct TV and getting the free antenna (they normally will charge for it). Hope it works. Good luck.
I looked on my receiver and had no info on it. The only way I could confirm I had the Genie was to hit menu on my remote, scroll down to settings, on right side of tv scroll the boxes to the right to info/test. Click on that. Bottom right I had a option for Genie info. If you dont have that, then you may have to call Direct TV to verify what you have.
We switched back to Dish because of this and got a great 2-year deal. We still had 7 months left on our contract, but it was so worth it to go back to Dish!
Dish is even worse than DirecTV when it comes to channel blackouts. I wouldn’t get Dish because of these channel blackouts.
‘m a relatively new AT&T TV customer, but long time prior DirecTV customer. I’ll keep this short and clear.
I have no connection to either company other than as a customer to one and a viewer to the other. Being stuck smack in the middle of this, AT&T has my full support in the ongoing fee dispute with Tenga. Tenga’s fee incr is unreasonable in today’s market. It was their choice to remove programming from AT&T properties. Please understand that Tenga chose to pull their programming as a strong arm tactic.
In this case, it’s unfortunate AT&T is getting the blame. Those screaming at and threatening AT&T don’t understand the effect on their bill if AT&T caves on this issue. Other providers will demand similar big increases, and Tenga will ask for even bigger increases as contract renewal time comes for Dish, Comcast, yada.
Go ahead, make that switch and watch as this same issue follows you to other outlets as Tenga plays strong arm with upcoming carriage renewals.
Thanks Joe for the much-needed dose of rationality. Reading these comments is depressing, like reading comments in a Facebook political post. I’ve had DirecTV continuously since 1997, and I can count the number of these-type carriage disputes over the years on one hand. If you leave to go to another provider, it’s just a matter of time before it happens there. If you read through these comments, you’ll see that for *most* customers, there are low-cost or no-cost alternatives to get their channels back, AND — DirecTV is reimbursing customers and/or offering free premium channels to make up for the outage. Just calm down, and figure out what’s best for you. If you’re among the group that truly has no alternative, that is unfortunate– but remember: if you switch now, it will likely happen again to whatever channel(s), with your new provider. And TVAnswerMan, do you read these comments? You really need to weigh in again, to stop the hysteria.
Why would anyone even say happy viewing the channel I watch I no longer get if it doesnt change soon I will be hunting another provider with me its direct tv and CBS that or I will do old school and do like the old days with an outside antenna.
Oh I got the inside antenna that they sent me but it didnt do anything but add about 20 channels th my cable box that none of them work so it was a waste of time and effort I have been with direct tv for probably 15 years I guess loyalty means nothing to them either.
Go to target.com and find an amplified indoor HD antenna – it costs around $25. You connect the antenna coax output into the OTA coax input. You need an amplified antenna to get decent signal, otherwise – it will just be extra channel numbers in the guide with no content
St Louis KSDKNBC channel just came back on. Is the dispute over?
It’s over.