AT&T’s TV services, including DIRECTV, U-verse and AT&T TV, this morning lost roughly 25 local TV channels due to a fee fight with Cox Media Group, and its owner, Apollo Global Management.
Update: AT&T & Cox Sign New Deal; Blackout Over
The Cox Media stations this morning posted notices at their web sites alerting viewers that their signals had been removed from the three services.
“WSB-TV has been removed from AT&T/DIRECTV after AT&T/DIRECTV refused to agree to a fair agreement with our owner, Cox Media Group, to carry our station,” WSB-TV, the ABC affiliate in Atlanta, stated. “If you are currently affected by AT&T/DIRECTV’s decision to deprive you of important local news and programming during these critical times, make your voice heard! Call AT&T/DIRECTV today at 1-800-531-5000 and demand that they get your local programming back.”
As of 4:30 a.m. ET, AT&T had yet to issue a statement on the fee fight. However, at the company’s TV Promise web page, it says this:
“We’re disappointed Cox Media Group has intentionally put you into the middle of a private business matter. We want to get WSB-ABC back into your local lineups, but Cox Media Group alone has exclusive control over which homes are allowed to receive WSB-ABC and any ABC programs in Atlanta. We continue to work with Cox Media Group to get your stations back and appreciate your patience while we do.”
Cox Media, which manages the stations, said last week that if a new carriage agreement was not signed by 2:59 a.m. ET today that DIRECTV, AT&T TV and U-verse would lose their signals. The blackout includes a 14-station group purchased separately by Cox/Apollo in 2020, and approximately 10-15 other stations formerly owned by Northwest Broadcasting, and purchased by Cox and Apollo last year as well.
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Cox Media stations that have posted notices that AT&T’s TV services have lost their signals include:
KFFX-TV (Fox, Yakima, Washington)
KYMA-TV (CBS, NBC, Yuma, Arizona)
KIEM-TV, KVIQ-TV (NBC, CBS, Eureka, California)
WSYT-TV (Fox, Syracuse, New York)
KLAX-TV (ABC, Alexandria, Louisiana)
WABG-TV, WXVT-TV (ABC, CBS, Fox, Greenwood, Mississippi)
WICZ-TV (Fox, Binghamton, New York)
KMVU-TV (Fox, Medford, Oregon)
KAYU-TV (Fox, Spokane, Washington)
WSB-TV, Channel 2 (ABC, Atlanta, GA)
WFXT-TV, Channel 25 (FOX, Boston, MA)
WSOC-TV, Channel 9 (ABC, Charlotte, NC)
WAXN-TV, Channel 64 (IND, Charlotte, NC)
WHIO-TV, Channel 7 (CBS, Dayton, OH)
WFOX-TV, Channel 30 (FOX, Jacksonville, FL)
WFOX2-TV, Channel 32 (MNT, Jacksonville, FL)
WHBQ-TV, Channel 13 (FOX, Memphis, TN)
WFTV-TV, Channel 9 (ABC, Orlando, FL)
WRDQ-TV, Channel 27 (IND, Orlando, FL)
WPXI-TV, Channel 11 (NBC, Pittsburgh, PA)
KIRO-TV, Channel 7 (CBS, Seattle, WA)
KOKI-TV, Channel 23 (FOX, Tulsa, OK)
KMYT-TV, Channel 41 (MNT, Tulsa, OK)
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DirecTV is a dying business, bleeding customers by the truck load. Why doesn’t Cox just wait them out?
We here in AZ hate cox. Their Monopoly games, rate hikes for no reason and endless amount of channels playing marathon shows wev’ve already seen over and over. First company to come challenge Cox will make a lot of money.
Bye bye cox, I pay enough already.
I think this is totally. BS that’s the only channel I watch think a3 going with Dish
I’m in Kansas. When are we going to get all the normal channels back that was taken off? ( A&E, TLC, Cooking network, etc..) I’m not paying a 106.00 bill for 1/2 the channels I don’t even get..