By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on X.
Former editor of Satellite DIRECT magazine. Reported on DIRECTV for 29 years.

TV Answer Man, I know you’ve watched a lot of these blackouts in your career. Do you think the DIRECTV blackout with the Tegna stations will end this weekend before all the bowl games and NFL games on Sunday? — Bob, Bowie, Maryland. 

Bob, DIRECTV, DIRECTV Stream and U-verse have been without 64 Tegna-owned local stations since November 30 due to a fee dispute between the two companies. When the fee fight began, I predicted that it would last at least until the NFL playoffs and perhaps all the way up to the Super Bowl. But I will say that this is an interesting weekend for a possible settlement.

Why do I say that?

There are 13 bowl games this weekend, including four on local stations (The other nine are on ESPN.). In addition, Sunday brings the next to the last week of NFL afternoon games on CBS and Fox, and the Sunday night game on NBC.  That’s a lot of important football that could be missed by DIRECTV viewers in Tegna markets. (The Tegna stations include network affiliates for CBS, ABC, Fox, The CW and NBC.)

Both DIRECTV and Tegna stand to lose if the high-profile games are blacked out, in subscriber unrest and ratings respectively. Consequently, it would seem to be a good time for the two companies to up their games in negotiations this weekend. If they are relatively close to terms, the weekend football schedule could be what’s needed to push them across the finish line.

I wouldn’t bet on a settlement because I’m not confident they are close to a settlement. In fact, if there is no deal this weekend, the odds will increase there will be no settlement until the NFL playoffs start, as I predicted originally. But I do think DIRECTV’s Tegna viewers have reason to be more hopeful over the next few days than they have since the dispute began.

Bob, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!


The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.