By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on X.
Former editor of Satellite DIRECT magazine. Reported on DIRECTV for 30 years.
If you’re a DIRECTV subscriber in a market where Tegna owns a local network affiliate, you might be hoping your TV provider will replace the blacked out local channel with a national network feed this weekend when the NFL playoffs start. However, a DIRECTV spokesman today tells The TV Answer Man that the company has no plans to provide the games this weekend via national feeds from the networks.
Update: DIRECTV & Tegna Sign New Deal
“No, but we’re always in the process of testing different channel feeds for continued or future distribution,” the spokesman said when asked if DIRECTV would substitute the local Tegna channels with national feeds from the networks.
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DIRECTV, DIRECTV Stream and U-verse on November 30 lost 64 Tegna-owned network affiliates in 51 markets when the two sides could not reach a new carriage agreement. There is no indication that a settlement is imminent, and Stream TV Insider reported earlier this month that DIRECTV has tested the distribution of a national NBC feed as a possible replacement for Tegna-owned NBC stations. The national feeds would not include local programming such as news shows but would include the network’s primetime lineup and live national sports broadcasts.
Rob Thun, DIRECTV’s chief content officer, told the site last month that it was considering offering national feeds as Tegna replacements.
“We don’t need the stations to deliver the network content — we can go get it from the network,” Thun said. “So, why don’t we work on that construct? And, by the way, we’ve had those conversations with the networks.”
But it would appear the conversations will not result in actual distribution, at least not by this weekend.
Now with NFL playoff games scheduled this weekend on NBC, CBS and Fox, many DIRECTV subscribers could miss them unless they get an antenna or subscribe to a streaming service that will also carry them. (Paramount+ carries the local CBS affiliate with its $11.99 a month plan while NBC’s Browns-Texans game on Saturday will also be available to all Peacock subscribers. Fox does not have a subscription streaming service, but the Fox Sports app might show the game if you input your DIRECTV user name and password.)
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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.
