DIRECTV vs. Nexstar: Could a Settlement Come This Week?
By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – @tvanswerman
TV Answer Man, I remember your article that the last time DIRECTV and Nexstar had a blackout, they settled around now. Isn’t that right? Do you think we will see an end to this in the next few days? — Tom, Indianapolis.
Tom, DIRECTV has now been without the 159 Nexstar-owned local network affiliates for almost two months due to a fee fight. That is a significant amount of time because the two companies engaged in a similar carriage dispute in 2019 which lasted slightly less than two months. The fight in 2019 also ended as the college and pro football seasons were about to begin. If history is a guide, that might suggest the current blackout could end this week, too. Right?
Well, maybe. There is a difference between the two disputes. In 2023, DIRECTV is alleging that Nexstar, which manages roughly 30 stations owned by White Knight and Mission Broadcasting, has conspired with those two station groups to withhold its signals. (The satcaster, and DIRECTV Stream and U-verse, have been without the White Knight and Mission stations since October.) Nexstar is denying that charge and the disagreement over White Knight and Mission could further complicate the negotiations for the 159 Nexstar-owned stations. (The blackout, which also affects U-verse and DIRECTV Stream, includes stations for ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and The CW. You can see a station list here.)
But that aside, as in 2019, the prospect of DIRECTV’s subscribers not watching college and pro football on 159 Nexstar stations is a strong incentive for both companies to reach an agreement now. DIRECTV can’t afford to have so many viewers of Fox, ABC, CBS and NBC miss even a single NFL or college game while Nexstar is equally dependent on football broadcasts for ratings and advertising, particularly when there’s a writers/actors’ strike that will keep the networks from debuting new programs this fall. Live sports are more important than ever now to both DIRECTV and Nexstar.
Consequently, I would not be surprised if a deal is reached this week. There is no guarantee, but this carriage impasse has reached a point where it could start having a serious economic impact on both companies.
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
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Direct TV has always been a crap company with horrible customer service (I was a customer for years simple out of it being the only option). They got taken over by another crap company with horrible customer service in ATT. Two of the worst became one. Either way Direct TV is at fault most of the time simple because they do not care.
John, I don’t think you’ve paid much attention to this to simply put 100% blame on DirecTV for this one.
Regardless, I hope this gets settled before Saturday’s college football games.
John, Have to agree with amiller31 on this one. Nexstar in this case, not DirecTv, is the bigger villain because of their exorbitant carriage fee demands.
to go this long without resolving this issue means no one was really trying. isn’t there supposed to be someone in charge of consumer interests?
Ridiculous. We pay too much for the programming offered. Just as soon as our contract ends we will be looking for options.
How about an antenna for local stations and subscribe to just what you need to decrease this absurd cost and not get what you pay for! Everyone should think about that! Maybe then these companies would care more(nextstar and direct tv)
Maybe purchase a antenna for local stations and purchase just what you need! Maybe that would help get the cost down and make companies care more!!!
Totally agree. Had DTV from 2001 until this recent spat with Nexstar. When it was DTV it had outstanding customer service. When ATT bought it, the service dropped into the abyss. You used to talk to college kids from campuses across the country when you called, and they did a great job of dealing with your issue or got you to the right person who could. Now you talk to someone who does not speak English as a first language and just reads from a script.