Updated: Now DIRECTV Has a Carriage Blackout! (But It’s a Small One)

By Phillip Swann
Subscribe to The TV Answer Man – It’s Free! Click Here!

DIRECTV has lost two local stations in Oregon due to a carriage dispute between the companies, writes Central Oregon Daily News, a sister outlet to the stations.

The publication says the two Central Oregon stations (Bend, Oregon) are the local ABC affiliate (KOHD) and the CBS (KBNZ) station, both owned by Zolo Broadcasting. DIRECTV lost the stations on Halloween night.

“We understand how frustrating this is for viewers,” Central Oregon Daily’s General Manager Matt McDonald said. “However, we continue to provide both ABC and CBS free over-the-air for everyone to watch.”

DIRECTV has not commented on the carriage dispute.

Update: DIRECTV issued this statement this morning:

“Zolo Broadcasting has temporarily blocked our customers’ access to KOHD-ABC and KBNZ-CBS to force them to pay more in the coming years, even though the stations aren’t as popular as before, and ABC and CBS keep shifting their top programs to streaming. The same Zolo stations are also unavailable to local DISH Network customers. We want to ensure our customers get the best value for their money and appreciate their patience while we work with Zolo to reconnect them as soon as possible.”

The blackout means that DIRECTV subscribers in the Central Oregon area will be unable to watch NFL games on CBS on Sunday unless a new agreement is not reached by then. ABC’s Monday Night Football would also be blacked out.

The outage affects Deschutes County viewers, Central Oregon Daily News wrote, but does not impact Crook and Jefferson counties, which receive their ABC and CBS from KATU and KOIN in Portland.

Please consider making a donation to The TV Answer Man site here at the Buy Me a Coffee site. Any donation size is appreciated and will help me continue to provide these articles to you.

Have a Question? Ask The TV Answer Man!
Have a question about a favorite show, streaming service or new TV product? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.