By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on X.
Former editor of Satellite DIRECT magazine. Reported on DIRECTV for 30 years.

DIRECTV, DIRECTV Stream and U-verse this morning lost 14 Cox Media Group-owned local channels in nine markets when the two sides could not reach a new carriage agreement.

Update: DIRECTV and Cox Media Group sign new deal.

The broadcaster announced on January 26 that the blackout could occur, saying the old agreement between the companies expired at midnight on February 2. Cox Media Group early this morning issued a press release saying the blackout had begun.

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“While we’ve been signing dozens of fair-market carriage deals that bring our high-quality programming to more than 50 million viewers, DIRECTV has been dropping hundreds of TV stations and depriving its customers of the local content they want and paid DIRECTV for,” said Marian Pittman, executive vice president of Cox Media Group. “Now DIRECTV is at it again. We call on DIRECTV to stop holding viewers hostage to its anti-consumer agenda.”

DIRECTV countered with its own statement:

“Cox Media Group (CMG) has pulled access to 12 local broadcast stations from DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM and U-verse customers in 9 metro areas in pursuit of an unwarranted rate increase that will tax their viewers, who are also our customers. This is an unfortunate and all too familiar path for CMG, which has been down on DISH since November 2022 and has threatened or pulled its signals from Comcast, Frontier, FuboTV, Suddenlink, Verizon FiOS and others,” the TV provider stated.

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The Cox Media stations represent 10 network affiliates, including three CBS stations. The Super Bowl, which will be broadcast by CBS, is in eight days. However, CBS this year is simulcasting it on Nickelodeon which is available in most DIRECTV programming packages. So most subscribers in those markets could still watch the game on Nick as well as install an antenna.

Here are the Cox Media Group network affiliates that have been blacked out on DIRECTV:

(ABC: WSB) – Atlanta, GA
(FOX: WFXT) – Boston, MA
(ABC: WSOC) – Charlotte, NC
(CBS: WHIO) – Dayton, OH
(FOX: KLSR) – Eugene, OR

(FOX: WFOX, CBS, WJAZ) – Jacksonville, FL
(ABC: WFTV) – Orlando, FL
(NBC: WPXI) – Pittsburgh, PA
(CBS: KIRO) – Seattle, WA

The Cox Media Group also owns some independent channels.

Update: CMG says it doesn’t own the Jacksonville CBS affiliate although it’s listed on its web site: https://www.cmg.com/brands/

The broadcasting group apparently just manages the station so it’s not part of the blackout. 

The TV Answer Man will monitor this situation and report back here if anything significant changes.

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.