By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –@tvanswerman
TV Answer Man, do you know if the Nexstar deal with DIRECTV includes our station in Providence? We haven’t had our Fox station since last October. DIRECTV said it had something to do with Nexstar, right? — Tom, Providence.
Tom, DIRECTV yesterday announced it had signed a multi-year contract with Nexstar to resume carrying the broadcaster’s 176 local stations after a 76-day blackout. The big question since Sunday when the two companies first signed a temporary pact was whether it also included the roughly 30 stations owned by Mission Broadcasting and White Knight. DIRECTV has been without those stations since last October. But since they are managed by Nexstar, subscribers have wondered whether they will be included in any Nexstar deal. That perception was heightened with repeated allegations from DIRECTV that Nexstar, as the stations’ manager, had orchestrated the Mission and White Knight fee fights.
We have asked DIRECTV’s communications department – twice — whether the Mission and White Knight stations are included in the Nexstar agreement but have not received a response. But DIRECTV has revealed the answer at its TV Promise page, which is dedicated to providing information on carriage disputes to its subscribers. This is what it says about one of those Mission stations, the Fox affiliate in Providence, WNAC-TV.
“We will continue to seek a separate multi-year agreement to return your local FOX, CW affiliate(s) WNAC, which is controlled by Nexstar but licensed to Mission Broadcasting, that by law must oversee any renewal. We want to bring that station back to you as soon as possible and have filed a federal lawsuit and complaints with the Federal Communications Commission to help break this impasse.”
So the Nexstar deal does not include the Mission and White Knight stations. And it remains unclear if the agreement with Nexstar will even help with settling those disputes. Nexstar manages the stations, but they are still owned by other companies, as DIRECTV notes at the TV Promise page.
By the way, the Mission stations are in 26 markets including New York. Providence, Rhode Island, Little Rock, Albuquerque, Abilene, Texas, Albany, New York and Erie, Pennsylvania, among others. You can see a complete list here. The two White Knight stations are located in Louisiana and Texas.
Tom, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!
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— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
