With the end of the World Cup approaching and the start of football season coming up in August, DirecTV and E.W. Scripps have announced a new multi-year agreement that will return 54 local broadcast stations owned and operated by the station group to DirecTV’s streaming, satellite, and U-verse customers.

The agreement ends a five-week blackout affecting millions of customers across 36 Nielsen DMAs, including Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Milwaukee, Nashville, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Tampa-St. Petersburg, and others.

“These agreements recognize the enduring value of local television stations as essential infrastructure for American communities,” said Adam Symson, Scripps’ president and CEO. “Our stations save lives with severe weather alerts, provide critical emergency information during natural disasters, deliver local news that informs and holds power in check, and unite communities through live sports that no other platform can replicate."

“Fair compensation from distribution partners ensures we can sustain these essential public services for millions of Americans who depend on us for accessible, trusted connection to what matters most in their daily lives," he added.

While the agreement ends the dispute, DirecTV continued to criticize the process of negotiating new retransmission consent agreements with station groups.

“[W]e are frustrated that broadcasters use blackouts as a tool to force us to accept unwarranted rate hikes that consistently exceed normal, inflationary increases, and by a lot,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer at DirecTV. “At a time when affordability matters more than ever, families are too often asked to pay more while receiving less…[A]s ownership becomes concentrated among a handful of ever-larger broadcasters gaining stations across new and within their existing markets, those expanded stations become increasingly powerful and further unbalanced negotiating tools. The more markets and major network affiliations a broadcaster controls, the greater its ability to withhold programming from the very communities it is meant to serve.”

“Consumers should never lose access to essential local television because of a carriage dispute,” he added. “It's time to modernize the system so it rewards service to local communities—and not consolidated market power—by returning to the original purpose of broadcasting of putting viewers’ interests first.”

Separately, DirecTV is part of an antitrust lawsuit in California seeking to block the Nexstar/Tegna merger that would further consolidate the industry.

Broadcasters have long argued that consolidation is necessary to help them compete with big tech companies who already dominate the ad and streaming businesses.

WASHINGTON—The American Television Alliance (ATVA) is blasting Deltavision Media’s decision to demand “egregious” retransmission fees from Verizon for its WSYT Fox affiliate and MyNetworkTV station in Syracuse, N.Y.

“Deltavision Media is a new player in broadcasting, but it’s already trying to score a financial goal while kicking consumers out of the game,” said ATVA spokesman Hunter Wilson. “Ahead of a critical contract deadline next week, Deltavision Media is threatening a TV blackout that would impact FIFA World Cup 2026 programming, demanding exorbitant retransmission fees with no concern for the thousands of families who are excited to watch their favorite match. Holding the world’s biggest sporting event hostage is no way to introduce yourself to the business.”

The ATVA, which is backed by Verizon and other pay TV groups, claimed that Deltavision Media, a Mississippi-based regional media company launched in August 2025, has proven to be an uncooperative negotiating partner with Verizon, “delaying its initial proposal and then demanding staggering rate increases – even compared to the already-inflated standards typical of Big Broadcaster retransmission consent demands.”

If the blackout does occur it would impact nearly 20,000 Verizon customers in the Syracuse, N.Y. market.

In its statement, the ATVA noted that it continues to lobby for reforms in the ways retransmission consent agreements are conducted.

“Since 2010, broadcasters have levied more than 2,500 TV blackouts and increased retransmission consent fees by an overwhelming 2,000 percent,” the group said. “American consumers continue to pay the price for outdated regulations that allow broadcasters to weaponize TV blackouts, deliberately targeting live sports, local news and other popular TV.”

The NAB and broadcasters have pushed back against those arguments arguing that broadcast content is typically the most popular content on pay TV platforms and that increased retrans fees fund important local news and the cost of popular sports rights like the World Cup.

TV Tech has reached out to WSYT for comment.

WASHINGTON—The Motion Picture Association has filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission urging the agency not to change rules relating to how retransmission consent negotiations are conducted with services like YouTube TV, Hulu Live, and Fubo.

Currently those services (vMVPDs) are not classified as traditional pay TV operators (MVPDs) like Comcast even though they offer very similar packages of channels for a monthly subscription. That means that retransmission consent negotiations with these vMVPDs are conducted by broadcast networks and their parent companies rather than being negotiated by station groups who handle retrans deals with traditional MVPDs.

Broadcast station groups have long argued that they would be able to get higher retransmission fees if they handled the negotiations with vMVPDs.

In a filing made as part of the FCC’s ongoing investigation into the state of competition in the communications marketplace the MPA urged the “the FCC to refrain from intervening in the video marketplace in light of increasing innovation, intermodal competition, and viewer choice.”

The MPA is backed by the major studios as well as Amazon Studios and Netflix Studios that have major interests in the streaming industry,

More specifically, the MPA argued that the “FCC should intervene in the video marketplace only where it has clear legal authority and unequivocal record evidence of market failure. To do otherwise would hinder, rather than help innovation and viewer choice. Today, the marketplace shows abundance and intermodal competition, not clear signs of market failure. Indeed, online services are increasingly providing access to video programming that also remains available on other platforms, a proposition supported by the Public Notice launching this round of comments. From a competition standpoint, examining intermodal competition across broadcast, cable, satellite, telecommunications, and streaming services remains important.”

In addition, the MPA argued that “although streaming services compete with all the other video platforms, the FCC and Congress have both observed that the agency lacks authority to regulate online video services.”

The filing also cited a letter from the previous FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel to Sen. Charles Grassley in March of 2023 stating that “online video programming distributors do not neatly fit in these [multichannel video programming distributor] statutory definitions because they lack a physical connection to subscribers and do not use any electromagnetic frequencies when delivering programming to their viewers” and that “the Commission lacks the power to change these unambiguous provisions.”

That letter cited in the MPA filing also noted “that even if the Commission were to proceed, it would require changes to underlying copyright policies” also outside the FCC’s jurisdiction.

“The filmed entertainment sector continues to deliver content that captivates and caters to the viewing preferences of a wide range of consumers,” the MPA concluded. “The sector is a significant driver of economic opportunities for communities across the nation and enables American consumers to exchange diverse information, ideas, achievements, and culture. But as MPA stated in its 2024 Comments, the video programming marketplace will only continue to thrive if the Commission facilitates a light-touch approach to regulating video services.”

The full filing is available here.

In the latest retransmission consent battle, 40 stations owned by E.W. Scripps were dropped from Comcast’s Xfinity pay TV service after the two sides were unable to reach a new retransmission consent agreement on March 31.

In a statement on its website, the pay TV operator said that “Comcast pays programmers to bring customers the entertainment, information, and sports they want. Comcast works to negotiate fair terms in order to ensure the greatest value for customers, given all the ways content can be accessed today. A number of reasonable offers have been made that E. W. Scripps hasn’t accepted. Comcast continues to work towards making this programming available again with fair pricing and terms for our customers.”

Comcast said that E. W. Scripps owns and operates 40 broadcast stations nationwide in the Comcast footprint, including, 19 Big Four stations (e.g., ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC), and 21 non-Big Four stations (e.g., Independent).

In a statement, Scripps said that “"Scripps has been negotiating in good faith to reach an agreement that reflects this value and is fair for both parties and viewers. We hope Comcast recognizes the critical value we play for our communities and restores our stations' signals so we can continue to serve their customers. Until then, Xfinity customers can still find our local news and sports programming for free over-the-air, on our station websites, streaming apps and on other locally available cable and satellite providers."

LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y.—With a deadline looming for inking a new retransmission consent deal with Tegna, the cable operator Optimum has issued a statement, forcefully rejecting what it calls “excessive and unjustified demands from Tegna."

"Tegna is pursuing egregious fee increases that are divorced from market reality, including a massive 30% hike for major network affiliates and a colossal 50% increase for The CW,” the operator said in a press release.

“Optimum will always take a stand for our customers against broadcasters and programmers demanding significantly higher fees for the same content,” Keith Bowen, president of news, programming and business services at Optimum, said. “Tegna is operating as if the market hasn’t changed in 20 years and its request is nothing short of egregious.

TV Tech has reached out to Tegna for comment.

In the Optimum release, the operator also stressed the link between rising retrans fees and consolidation in the broadcast station business. Broadcasters believe consolidation will help them better compete against big tech firms, while pay TV operators believe it will lead to higher prices for programming.

“These demands from Tegna cannot be viewed in isolation; they are directly linked to the looming merger of Nexstar and Tegna and a broadcasting industry that is rapidly contracting into a duopoly,” the release said. “In fact, Optimum’s negotiations with Tegna and Nexstar—with expirations just one week apart—expose the dark side of broadcaster consolidation.

Optimum did not say when its deal with Tegna expired but others have reported the deadline was in December 2025.

Earlier this year, Nexstar's stations were blacked out on Optimum between Jan. 10 and 18, when a new deal was reached.

"Tegna is attempting to lock in skyrocketing rates now, effectively forcing Optimum’s constituents to pre-pay for a merger that will only reduce their choices,” Bowen said. “Optimum is taking this stand not just for today, but to stop a trend where broadcasters use the threat of blackouts to fund their takeover sprees. As broadcasters race to consolidate, they are leaving the consumer behind. Optimum urges policymakers to look closely at how these rate demands serve as a precursor to anticompetitive behavior.”

MIAMI—TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision’s U.S. networks (Univision, UNIMÁS, TUDN, and Galavisión) on YouTube TV’s Base Plan and Spanish Plan.

In addition, ViX will be offered through YouTube’s Primetime Channels and, for the first time, YouTube will extend its Primetime Channels product to Mexico.

The two companies also reported that the deal also expands TelevisaUnivision’s collaboration with YouTube through new initiatives that will bring its unique content to a broader audience.

The new deal ends a lengthy blackout of the popular Spanish-language services on the vMVPD that began at the end of September.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement that restores Univision to YouTube TV, ensuring millions of Hispanics can access the news, sports, and entertainment they care about and have relied on for over 70 years,” TelevisaUnivision CEO Daniel Alegre said. “This agreement recognizes the essential role that our content plays in the daily lives of our viewers, as we fulfill our mission of reflecting the voice of Hispanics. We look forward to serving YouTube TV subscribers again.”

BURBANK, Calif.—The Walt Disney Company and YouTube TV have reached a new multi-year distribution agreement, ending a carriage dispute that had blacked out ABC, ESPN, and other Disney-owned channels on the vMPVD since the end of October.

As usual in these carriage agreements, financial terms were not disclosed.

“This new agreement reflects our continued commitment to delivering exceptional entertainment and evolving with how audiences choose to watch,’’ said Disney Entertainment co-chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro. in a statement “It recognizes the tremendous value of Disney’s programming and provides YouTube TV subscribers with more flexibility and choice. We are pleased that our networks have been restored in time for fans to enjoy the many great programming options this weekend, including college football.”

Disney said that key elements of the agreement included:

• Carriage of Disney’s full linear portfolio including all the ESPN networks, ABC, the Disney-branded channels, Freeform, the FX Networks, and the National Geographic channels
• ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service (Unlimited Plan) to be made available at no additional cost to YouTube TV subscribers
• Access to a selection of live and on-demand programming from ESPN Unlimited inside YouTube TV
• Select networks to be included in various genre-specific packages
• The ability to include the Disney+, Hulu Bundle as part of select YouTube offerings

The contentious contract negotiations between The Walt Disney Co. and YouTube TV have resulted in a blackout of Disney-owned programming on the pay TV operator. That will leave subscribers without access to high-profile NFL, college football, NBA and other sports and entertainment programming until a new carriage deal is concluded.

The blackout includes ESPN; ABC broadcast programming; and other Disney-owned networks. The channels were removed from YouTube TV Thursday evening.

As usual in these negotiations, both sides blamed each other for the impasse.

YouTube TV attacked Disney for insisting on terms that would push up prices for pay TV subscribers, while Disney complained that “with a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor.”

The dispute comes as pay TV operators have been trying to control prices as a way to slow subscriber losses from cord-cutting, and as large programmers like Disney have been launching direct-to-consumer streaming services that allow consumers to access high-profile programming outside the pay TV ecosystem.

In a statement, YouTube said: “Last week, Disney used the threat of a blackout on YouTube TV as a negotiating tactic to force deal terms that would raise prices on our customers. They’re now following through on that threat, suspending their content on YouTube TV. This decision directly harms our subscribers while benefiting their own live TV products, including Hulu + Live TV and Fubo.

“We've been working in good faith to negotiate a deal with Disney that pays them fairly for their content on YouTube TV,” the vMVPD said. “Unfortunately, Disney is proposing costly economic terms that would raise prices on YouTube TV customers and give our customers fewer choices, while benefiting Disney’s own live TV products—like Hulu+Live TV and, soon, Fubo. Without an agreement, we'll have to remove Disney’s content from YouTube TV and if it remains unavailable for an extended period of time, we will offer subscribers a $20 credit.”

In response, a Disney spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter: “Unfortunately, Google’s YouTube TV has chosen to deny their subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for our channels, including ESPN and ABC. Without a new agreement in place, their subscribers will not have access to our programming, which includes the best lineup in live sports—anchored by the NFL, NBA and college football, with 13 of the top 25 college teams playing this weekend. With a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor. We know how frustrating this is for YouTube TV subscribers and remain committed to working toward a resolution as quickly as possible.”

UPDATE: Both parties have reached a new carriage agreement.

A deadline is looming for a new carriage deal between Verizon’s Fios TV and Nexstar, with both Verizon and the pay TV-backed American Television Alliance blasting the station group’s demands for what ATA called "exorbitant" price increases.

Gary Weitman, executive vice president and chief communications officer at Nexstar Media Group told TV Tech that "we can confirm our distribution agreement with Verizon is expiring soon. We are in active discussions on a new agreement.” He declined to respond further to the ATA and Verizon statements.

If a deal is not reached when the current agreement expires on October 24, customers could lose access to 14 stations in 10 markets, including ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates carrying high profile sports, and the NewsNation cable channel.

In a note posted on its website, Verizon said that “We are currently in negotiations to reach a fair and reasonable agreement on your behalf so we can continue to offer these channels to you. Unfortunately, we simply cannot agree to the significant price increases they have asked for to date. In the event we are unable to reach an agreement by October 24, 2025, you may lose access to these channels on Fios TV. The rising cost of programming is the single biggest factor in higher TV bills and we are fighting to keep prices reasonable for you.”

In a separate statement issued on October 22, the ATA blasted Nexstar’s demands for what it called “exorbitant retransmission consent fee hikes” and called for regulatory reform to prevent blackouts and price hikes for pay TV customers.

“As families and friends gather to watch Sunday Football, Big Broadcasters are preparing to pull the plug on thousands of pay-TV customers. Rather than watching local news, sports and weather, consumers may soon see a black screen,” said ATVA spokesman Hunter Wilson. “Nexstar Media Group is currently demanding exorbitant retransmission consent fee hikes, using a potential television blackout as ‘deal leverage.’ Clearly, they are more interested in extracting huge profits from pay-TV consumers than giving people the programming they’re already paying for.”

The ATA said the TV blackout could impact Verizon customers in Providence, R.I., Albany, N.Y., Buffalo, N.Y., Syracuse, N.Y., New York, N.Y., Harrisburg, Pa., Philadelphia, Pa., Washington, D.C., Richmond, Va., and Norfolk, Va., jeopardizing their access to regular programs, news and sporting events, including upcoming NFL games such as the Kansas City Chiefs at the Buffalo Bills (CBS Buffalo) and the Atlanta Falcons at the New England Patriots (CBS Providence).

The ATA also noted that “Big Broadcasters have levied more than 2,400 TV blackouts and increased retransmission consent fees by an overwhelming 2,000 percent since 2010. American consumers continue to pay the price for outdated regulations, allowing broadcasters to continuously weaponize TV blackouts, deliberately targeting live sports and other must-see TV.”

Verizon said that failure to reach an agreement may impact the following channels:

• WAVY (Norfolk): NBC, The Nest, getTV, Defy TV
• WDCW (D.C.): CW, Antenna TV
• WDVM (D.C.): DC News Now, ION Mystery, Rewind TV, ShopLC
• WHTM (Harrisburg): ABC, Grit, Laff
• WIVB (Buffalo): CBS
• WNLO (Buffalo): CW, Rewind TV
• WPHL (Philadelphia): CW, Antenna TV/MyNetwork, Grit, Comet
• WPIX (New York): CW, Antenna TV, Rewind TV
• WPRI (Providence): CBS, MyNetwork, True Crime Network, Defy TV
• WRIC (Richmond): ABC, Rewind TV, COZI TV, Laff
• WSYR (Syracuse): ABC, Antenna TV, Bounce TV
• WTEN (Albany): ABC, COZI TV, Antenna TV, ION Mystery
• WTNH (Greenwich): ABC
• WVBT (Norfolk): FOX, CW, Rewind TV, COZI TV
• NewsNation

IRVING, Texas—Following failed negotiations for a new retransmission consent agreement, 63 local TV stations in 42 markets owned by Nexstar Media Group were blacked out on Altice USA’s Optimum-branded cable systems around the country.

The blackout began at 5 p.m. on Jan. 10 and also included Nexstar’s national cable news network, NewsNation.

In an indication that Altice may be digging in for lengthy dispute, Optimum’s website offered its consumers a free trial and then 30% off their first two months to the vMVPD Fubo. It also provided detailed viewing options for accessing other upcoming football games.

Following the impasse both sides traded barbs.

“Altice has consistently made unreasonable and unprecedented demands of Nexstar, culminating with their decision to walk away from the negotiations,” Nexstar president and chief operating officer Michael Biard said. “Unfortunately, this seems to be a regular pattern of behavior for Altice, which dropped the MSG Network just last week, depriving millions of New York sports fans the opportunity to see their favorite teams in action. We understand the difficulty of Altice’s financial situation, burdened as it is by billions in debt, but the solution isn’t to force Optimum subscribers to continually pay more while getting less.”

In response, Altice USA said that Optimum offered an extension to keep Nexstar’s content on the air while they continued to negotiate, but the broadcaster refused.

“Unfortunately, Nexstar is using an anti-consumer negotiation tactic—tying local channels to less popular ones—requiring Optimum and its customers to pay for channels like NewsNation, which has essentially no viewership, in order to continue carrying Nexstar broadcast stations in various markets across the country,” an Altice statement said. “To illustrate the absurdity of this demand, we note that in any given month, 90% of customers—more than 1.2 million—never tune in to NewsNation, making it unfair to force customers to pay tens of millions of dollars for content they never watch and hold them hostage to force carriage of broadcast stations. Despite NewsNation’s shockingly low viewership, Nexstar has taken this one step further by demanding expanded distribution of the channel to hundreds of thousands more customers, requiring that even more customers who don’t watch it are made to pay for it.”

“Plus, Nexstar is demanding exorbitant rates, the highest of any broadcasting group, the statement added. “Nexstar’s ‘all or nothing’ approach of price-gouging customers by forcing them to pay for content they don’t want and bundling different stations and channels together into the same negotiations—despite their varied programming and audiences across different states—is in no one’s best interest but their own.

“We remain open to continued negotiations with Nexstar to reach a fair new deal to restore their programming on Optimum TV lineups,” the statement concluded. “In the meantime, customers who are looking to watch Nexstar-owned content can continue to do so for free over the air with an antenna or visit www.optimum.com/nexstar to learn more about the solutions Optimum is making available.”

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission has issued a Report and Order requiring cable and satellite pay TV operators to report commercial broadcast station blackouts that last than 24 hours or longer and were caused by failed negotiations over a new retransmission-consent agreement.

“This reporting will fill a basic information gap in the Commission’s awareness of such blackouts, ensuring that the Commission receives prompt and accurate information about critical multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) service disruptions involving broadcast stations when they occur,” the FCC explained in the order. “In addition, the creation of a centralized, Commission-hosted database of basic blackout information will increase transparency around the frequency and duration of broadcast station blackouts for the public.”

The FCC began looking into measures to address problems caused by the blackouts and to require reporting of them in 2023, following a number of high-profile spats over retransmission consent fees. In its recently released 2024 Communications Market Report, the FCC reported that “From 2022 to 2023, annual retransmission consent fees paid per subscriber increased, on average, by 16.2%, rising from $231.52 to $268.99. Average monthly retransmission consent fees per subscriber per broadcast station increased by 19%, increasing from $2.27 to $2.70 over the same period. Over the period 2013-2023, the compound average annual increase in fees per subscriber was 27.3%.”

In a period of sluggish or stagnant core TV advertising revenue excluding political advertising, retransmission consent fees has emerged as one of the largest sources of income by broadcast station groups.

The National Association of Broadcasters has consistently opposed the idea saying it would not help consumers or the FCC. “Given the Commission’s very limited role and its inability to use information on negotiating impasses to require parties to take any additional steps, it is not clear what lawful purpose this information gathering effort can serve, from the Commission’s standpoint," the NAB said in a October 2024 letter to the FCC.

The idea was also opposed by operators who argued it would impose difficult regulatory burdens, particularly on smaller operators.

In adopting the Order on Dec. 31 and releasing it on Jan. 3, the FCC noted that “While the Commission cannot prohibit a blackout from occurring, it can enforce broadcasters’ and MVPDs’ statutory duties around negotiation” via its rules regarding ‘Good Faith’ negotiations.”

“Despite the Commission’s good faith rules and complaint process, our experience suggests that cable and satellite TV subscribers are increasingly experiencing blackouts of broadcast station channels on their video service while at the same time retransmission consent fees have been consistently rising,” the FCC said in the report.

The report also complained that the FCC “does not usually learn of broadcast station blackouts from good faith complaints, but rather through news reports in the media or informal communication with Commission staff. This ad hoc process does not always provide timely or specific information regarding service disruptions.”

In its Report and Order, the FCC modified its initial reporting requirements to give operators two business days to report blackouts and require them only to make good faith estimates of the subscribers impacted. Operators can specify that subscriber counts be kept confidential.

The full Report and Order can be found here, along with a more detailed discussion of the rules and the portal for reporting blackouts.

CINCINNATI—E.W. Scripps has promoted Matthew Hijuelos to vice president of distribution, effective Jan. 1. In the new role, he will oversee the team responsible for managing distribution across numerous Scripps platforms, including cable, satellite and virtual pay TV providers as well as multicast spectrum.

Hijuelos, based in New York, replaces Robin Davis, who is retiring from Scripps at the end of the year.

Hijuelos is currently senior director of media distribution for Scripps and is responsible for the strategy, development and execution of multiplatform distribution and monetization partnerships across its national networks, local TV stations, sports and original programming. In this role, he has led Scripps’ streaming distribution efforts and has helped grow the company's annual connected TV advertising revenue, the company said.

“Matt is a respected media and business leader with a track record for successfully managing complex distribution negotiations,” Jason Combs, Scripps chief financial officer, said. “His experience, extensive industry relationships and understanding of our business make him the right person to lead our distribution team.”

Hijuelos has been with Scripps since 2021. He joined the company as part of its acquisition of Ion Media, where he served as vice president of business distribution, leading OTT strategy, partnerships, technology, monetization and analytics for the Ion networks. He previously spent nearly 20 years with Akamai Technologies, the cloud computing company, where he held several leadership positions focused on business development.

Hijuelos began his career as a business analyst at JP Morgan and also worked as a management consultant for KPMG. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The pay TV operator-back American Television Alliance (ATVA) has issued a statement in support of DirecTV’s complaint filed at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) against Disney. 

The DirecTV complaint contends that Disney has violated the FCC’s good faith mandates by predicating any licensing agreement on DirecTV waiving legal claims on Disney’s past, current or future anticompetitive actions – including its ongoing packaging and minimum penetration demands. 

“The FCC recently clarified that the one thing you cannot do in retransmission consent negotiations is prevent the other side from filing FCC complaints,” said Michelle Bowling, spokesperson for the American Television Alliance. “This makes sense – without such a rule, broadcasters would never be held accountable for any anticompetitive activity. Yet this is exactly what Disney has done here. And make no mistake: there is anticompetitive activity at the heart of this case. Disney wants MVPDs like DirecTV to carry and pay for all its networks – even the less popular ones – or face financial penalties. MVPD customers are thus forced to pay for the ‘fat bundle’ with no say over what they want or do not want. However, Disney itself will offer its most popular sports programming at cheaper rates, without unwanted networks. That’s wrong – and the courts and regulators should do something about it.” 

Disney and DirecTV are reporting they were unable to reach a new distribution deal. As a result of the dispute, Disney-owned stations, ESPN and other channels went dark on DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-verse at 7 p.m. ET, Sept. 1. 

The services went dark just the featured USC vs. LSU primetime game on Sept. 1 and the presidential debate produced by ABC News approaches. It would leave subscribers without access to key college football contests in the upcoming weeks.

As is often the case in these disputes, both sides are blaming each other for failing to offer sensible terms that would allow both parties to grow their businesses. It leaves nearly 11 million households around the country without access to ESPN, Disney-owned ABC affiliates and other services. 

Key sticking points seem to be the cost of programming, the inclusion of Disney streaming services in the agreement and the ability to drop channels and craft more flexible low-cost packages. These issues have become particularly thorny as pay TV operators continue to hemorrhage subscribers and consumers spend more time with streaming services. In Nielsen’s July snapshot of TV view, streaming captured a record 41.4% share of TV viewing outside mobile.  

Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, co-chairmen, Disney Entertainment, and Jimmy Pitaro, chairman, ESPN issued this statement regarding the impasse: “DirecTV chose to deny millions of subscribers access to our content just as we head into the final week of the US Open and gear up for college football and the opening of the NFL season. While we’re open to offering DirecTV flexibility and terms which we’ve extended to other distributors, we will not enter into an agreement that undervalues our portfolio of television channels and programs. We invest significantly to deliver the No. 1 brands in entertainment, news and sports because that’s what our viewers expect and deserve. We urge DirecTV to do what’s in the best interest of their customers and finalize a deal that would immediately restore our programming.”

In response, DirecTV complained that Disney pulled all its content from DirecTV moments before the feature USC vs. LSU primetime game tonight and the presidential debate produced by ABC News approaches. 

Disney is demanding that customers pay for channels they don’t watch and pony up for Disney’s streaming services, whether they want them or not, DirecTV said. 

“The Walt Disney Co. is once again refusing any accountability to consumers, distribution partners, and now the American judicial system,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer at DirecTV. “Disney is in the business of creating alternate realities, but this is the real world where we believe you earn your way and must answer for your own actions. They want to continue to chase maximum profits and dominant control at the expense of consumers – making it harder for them to select the shows and sports they want at a reasonable price.”

In a press release regarding the dispute, DirecTV also alleged “just hours before today’s expiration, Disney demanded that to reach any licensing agreement or to extend access to its programming, DirecTV must agree to waive all claims that Disney’s behavior is anti-competitive. Moreover, any future lawsuits resulting from DirecTV/Disney licensing agreements would be adjudicated in California – and not New York – because – as Disney counsel specifically stated – SDNY Judge Garnett `didn’t understand the issues’ when granting a preliminary injunction against Disney’s Venu Sports. Disney’s last-minute demands to foreclose upon any legal accountability for its growing pattern of anti-competitive actions should be troubling to all pro-consumer advocacy groups, regulators, and Department of Justice attorneys alike. And even more frustrating and incredulous is that, earlier today, Disney demanded that to reach a deal, we must waive all future legal claims that its behavior is anti-competitive.”

The American Television Alliance (ATVA), an advocacy for pay-TV providers, lambasted Disney for its move.

“This is the third major blackout by Disney in recent years as they seek to raise rates and force distributors to carry an unwieldy ‘one-size fits all’ bundle of more than a dozen channels to the vast majority of their subscribers," said Michelle Bowling, ATVA spokesperson. "These ‘fat bundles’ force consumers to pay for programming they don’t watch and the resulting high prices cause many consumers to ‘cut the cord’ from linear pay-TV, hurting programmers and distributors. Ironically, Disney itself is trying to partner with two of its competitors to launch a skinny sports bundle, which was blocked by a federal judge because they don’t allow distributors to do the same.”

Bowling went on to accuse Disney of hypocrisy: “Disney claims that local broadcast is an essential service, but they have repeatedly blacked out local stations in the name of higher licensing fees and penetration rates,” she added. “This also comes at a time when many rely on broadcast news related to hurricane season, amidst record-high heat waves across the country and as we approach a highly contested presidential election.”

9/3/2024: This article was updated to add ATVA's response.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Affiliate groups for the four major broadcast networks have asked the FCC to reclassify vMVPDs like YouTube TV so they are subject to the same rules for retransmission consent negotiations as traditional pay TV cable, satellite and telco providers. 

The ABC Television Affiliates Association, CBS Television Network Affiliates Association, FBC Television Affiliates Association, and NBC Television Affiliates made the comments in response to the Commission’s proposal to require multichannel video programming distributors (“MVPDs”) to provide rebates to customers who lose access to broadcast programming during contract disputes between programming suppliers and MVPDs. 

“Like the National Association of Broadcasters, the Affiliates Associations take no position on whether the Commission should adopt the proposals included in the NPRM [Notice of Proposed Rulemaking],” for rebates and blackout reporting, the affiliates argued. 

Instead, they argued that the FCC's plan would not benefit to many consumers without wider changes to the definition of what constitutes a pay TV operator. Currently vMVPDs are not subject to the same rules as traditional cable, satellite and telcos. 

“[T]he Affiliates Associations agree with Chairwoman Rosenworcel that consumers should not be forced to pay for services they do not receive,” the affiliates said. “Unfortunately, no matter how the Commission resolves the NPRM, an increasing number of consumers will continue to be forced to do just that when service disruptions occur. That is because, as noted in several comments, traditional MVPDs no longer dominate the multichannel video programming marketplace as they are increasingly displaced by unregulated companies that provide video services over the Internet (so-called `vMVPDs’). As the Affiliates Associations explained at length in their recent Reply Comments in the Commission’s impasse reporting docket, rapidly growing vMVPD services operate outside the retransmission consent framework established by statute and federal regulations due to the Commission’s inexplicable failure to complete its 2014 rulemaking that proposed classifying vMVPDs as MVPDs for purposes of the Commission’s rules.”

“In the meantime, as NCTA correctly notes, the meteoric rise of vMVPD subscribership has coincided with a precipitous drop in subscribers to traditional MVPDs,” the affiliates noted. “Consumers are freely substituting vMVPD service for MVPD service; this makes sense, as the two products are essentially identical but-for the technology by which they deliver programming to their subscribers. (Indeed, MVPDs like DISH and DIRECTV are also vMVPDs.) Typically, these services even enter the customer’s home over exactly the same physical infrastructure. Imposing additional regulations on `traditional’ MVPDs while leaving vMVPDs outside the retransmission consent framework is arbitrary, unfair, and affirmatively harmful to consumers. The Commission should heed the well-reasoned recommendations of the New York State Public Service Commission (the “NYPSC”), which correctly points out that requiring MVPDs to provide rebates during service interruptions while imposing no such obligation on vMVPDs is bad for consumers.”

Station groups have long pushed for reclassification. Currently networks and the major media companies that own them handle retransmission negotiations with vMVPDs. If they were reclassified pay TV operators, station groups would handle the deals, which they claim would boost their revenue. 

FCC chairwoman Rosenworcel has, however, expressed doubts that the FCC has authority to make the reclassification without new legislation. 

The filing also complained about filings from organizations and pay TV operators who have argued that the marketplace for negotiating retransmission consent agreements is “broken” and that the FCC needs to regulate it. 

“The retransmission consent market isn’t broken,” the affiliates argued. “It’s functioning exactly as Congress designed it to identify the value of broadcast programming. As Commissioner Simington notes, `[i]t is no sin to get paid, broadcasters produce content worth the price, and blackouts, infuriating though they are, are a feature of price discovery.’ Commission involvement in the marketplace will not improve results and will likely have wide-ranging unintended consequences. The market is changing to be sure, but the only intervention the retransmission marketplace needs now is for the Commission to correctly classify vMVPDs as MVPDs. Accordingly, the Commission should ignore the calls of a small number of commenters to convert this proceeding into an excuse for further regulation of the retransmission consent marketplace.”

The full filing is available here.  

In response to the pay TV industry's support of an FCC proposal to require MVPDs to report blackouts resulting from impasses in retransmission consent negotiations, the National Association of Broadcasters has filed a brief with the FCC that disputes the notion that retransmission disputes are increasingly resulting in blackouts of broadcast signals for pay TV subscribers. 

The NAB also continued to dispute the FCC’s regulatory authority to impose a blackout reporting requirement on MVPDs and argued that the requirement “also will not achieve any meaningful benefits for consumers.”

“If, however, the Commission is still intent on adopting some version of the proposed rules, it should provide consumers with a more complete picture by requiring MVPDs to report on both the limited disruptions in broadcast signal carriage on pay TV services and on all retransmission consent agreements successfully reached without any negotiating impasses,” the brief said. “Anything short of that would undoubtedly mislead consumers and others, including policymakers, as to the actual frequency of retransmission consent disputes and would provide a strong incentive for MVPDs to continue to manufacture impasses.”

In its arguments against the proposal the NAB also argued “it is well-established that the FCC’s [proposed reporting requirements] would promote MVPDs’ interests in publicizing negotiating impasses and encourage additional disruptions in broadcast signal carriage.”

“Indeed, an impasse-only reporting requirement could easily increase confusion among consumers and others, including policymakers, about how often disruptions in broadcast signal carriage actually occur,” the NAB argued. “The Notice itself erroneously asserts that the number of signal carriage disruptions has `increased dramatically,’ a perception perpetuated and echoed by pay TV filers.”

In fact, the NAB cited Kagan data showing “disruptions are rare, with just 18 disruptions over the past four years from January 2020 – December 2023, or 4.5 disruptions per year. This is about the same frequency as was the case for the first 20 years of the retransmission consent regime according to data in the Notice (i.e., 81 disruptions over 20 years, or 4.05 disruptions per year). The average length of disruptions also is not on the rise and has varied greatly over the past ten years, with no consistent direction up or down.”

In its filing the NAB also blasted a proposal by the NTCA to dramatically increase the amount of information disclosed during retrans negotiations to include pricing and other terms. 

“Finally, NTCA in its comments urges the Commission to require MVPDs to provide far more information as part of the proposed reporting requirement, including proposed prices, terms, and conditions of retransmission consent proposals made during negotiations and to declare invalid any nondisclosure provisions of retransmission consent,” the NAB said. “Clearly, the Commission has no authority to require the prices, terms, and conditions of retransmission consent proposals or agreements to be made public, or to declare provisions of privately negotiated contracts invalid by regulatory fiat. In adopting its good faith negotiation requirements, the Commission explicitly held that parties need only provide reasons for rejecting any aspect of a retransmission consent proposal, and explicitly rejected the idea of parties supplying evidence or documentation, stating that `an information sharing or discovery mechanism’ would be highly problematic because broadcasters and MVPDs `are competitors and the information involved would, in most instances, be competitively sensitive.’ Requiring the disclosure of such competitively sensitive material also would raise serious questions under the Trade Secrets Act. The good faith rules already require the parties to provide reasons for rejecting any aspects of a retransmission consent offer, and NTCA provides no rationale as to why enforcement of this requirement is insufficient. The Commission should not consider NTCA’s flawed proposal.”

ATLANTA—With broadcasters and MVPDs facing increased regulatory scrutiny over contentious retransmission consent negotiations that have resulted in high profile blackouts of broadcast signals on pay TV operators, Gray Television has announced that it has successfully completed renewals of retransmission consent agreements representing more than 70 percent of its total subscriber footprint among cable, satellite, and telco multichannel video programming distributors.  

The renewals have occurred in its current three-year retransmission renewal cycle that began with the successful renewal of agreements with three of the largest traditional MVPDs in the first quarter of 2023.

“Consistent with Gray’s history of retransmission renewal negotiations since the early 1990s, these negotiations, while often difficult and always complex, were all conducted without any disruption to consumers,” said Gray’s senior vice president Rob Folliard. “We sincerely appreciate the cooperative, constructive efforts of our MVPD partners in this renewal cycle.”

Gray’s executive vice president, Kevin Latek, added, “as a testament to the value of the live, local news and sports content that Gray’s stations provide, we have reached this retrans renewal milestone on rates and other terms that met our budgets and that will allow our stations to continue making considerable investments to expand local news and sports for the benefit of the local communities where our employees and these MVPDs’ employees live and work.”

Based on the successful negotiations with traditional MVPDs to date, Gray currently anticipates that it will complete its current renewal cycle by reaching new deals with a small number of cable operators serving less than thirty percent of our remaining traditional MVPD subscriber base, primarily during the second half of this year. Thereafter, Gray’s next renewal cycle will begin in the first quarter of 2026.

Gray Television, Inc. is a multimedia company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Gray is the nation’s largest owner of top-rated local television stations and digital assets in the United States. Its television stations serve 114 television markets that collectively reach approximately 36 percent of US television households. This portfolio includes 79 markets with the top-rated television station and 102 markets with the first and/or second highest rated television station.

DirecTV and Cox Media Group ended their carriage dispute just in time for Super Bowl LVIII when the two announced a new multi-year retransmission consent agreement.

The impasse started Feb. 2, after their previous agreement had expired, prompting Cox to pull its 12 stations from DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-Verse in nine cities. 

The announcement, made on Super Bowl Sunday, meant that all of the stations—in in particular, CBS stations in Dayton, Ohio and Seattle—were restored immediately just in time for TV’s biggest annual event. 

“We will continue to work with broadcasters like CMG, as well as any other programmers, to align the price our customers pay with the value they can expect to receive,” DirecTV said in a statement. “DirecTV and CMG greatly appreciate the patience of their subscribers and viewers.”

Here are the specific stations and cities where CMG stations were restored:

• Atlanta: WSB – ABC
• Boston: WFXT-FOX
• Charlotte, NC: WSCO-ABC, WAXN-IND
• Dayton, OH: WHIO-CBS
• Eugene, OR: KLSR-FOX, KEVU-MNT
• Jacksonville FL-Brunswick, GA: WFOX-FOX/MNT
• Orlando-Dayton, FL: WFTV-ABC, WRDQ-IND
• Pittsburgh: WPXI-NBC
• Seattle-Tacoma: KIRO-CBS

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The FCC has issued an order proposing fines totaling $720,000 against Nexstar for violations in how it negotiated a 2023 retransmission consent agreement with Hawaiian Telcom Services Company.

In a statement to TV Tech, a Nexstar spokesperson said: “Nexstar believes the proposed forfeiture is unwarranted, excessive, and in violation of the law and we will challenge the FCC’s action.”

The fines stem from a complaint filed by Hawaiian Telcom on July 5, 2023 against Nexstar alleging good faith violations during 2023 negotiations to renew a 2020 retransmission consent agreement with six Nexstar stations in Hawaii. 

The stations were removed from the telco at the end of June 2023 after being unable to negotiate a new deal. The parties eventually executed a renewal agreement on July 20, 2023

“Based on our review of the record, we find that: “Hawaiian Telcom has failed to meet its burden of proving that Nexstar breached its duty to negotiate retransmission consent in good faith (under the per se standards or the totality of the circumstances test) by refusing to extend the parties’ 2020 agreement until the parties reached either a new agreement or an impasse,” the FCC’s order said. 

But the order found that “Hawaiian Telcom has met its burden of proving that Nexstar, based on the totality of the circumstances, breached its duty to negotiate in good faith by proposing terms for renewal of the parties’ agreement that sought to foreclose Hawaiian Telcom from filing complaints with the Commission. We, therefore, deny the Complaint with respect to Count I, and grant the Complaint with respect to Count II to the extent discussed herein.” 

The FCC is proposing a $120,000 forfeiture from Nexstar for each of the six Nexstar-owned stations: KHON-TV (Fox, CW, GRIT and Rewind TV) and KHII (MyNetwork TV), and their satellite stations (KHAW-TV, KGMV, KGMD-TV and KAII-TV).

Nexstar now has 30 days to pay the fines or file materials with the FCC to get the amounts reduced. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The FCC has adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) on blackout reporting requirements and is asking for public comment on new rules that would require blackouts to be reported to the FCC. 

The FCC action comes at a time when declines in pay TV subscribers and the increasingly perilous economics of pay TV video services have produced a wave of blackouts following failed retransmission consent agreements between local stations and MVPDs. 

Currently MVPDs and broadcasters are not required to report these blackouts to the Commission, which the FCC said makes it difficult to the agency to address the issues. 

The move would amend the Commission’s rules to require notification to the Commission when a blackout of a broadcast television station, or stations, occurs on a video programming service offered by a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) for 24 hours or more due to a breakdown in retransmission consent negotiations between broadcasters and MVPDs.

The FCC also noted that the proposed reporting framework would require public notice to the Commission of the beginning and resolution of any blackout and submission of information about the number of subscribers affected. 

By requiring timely notification of broadcast station blackouts in a centralized, Commission-hosted database, these proposed reporting requirements would ensure that the Commission and public receive prompt and accurate information about critical MVPD service disruptions involving broadcast stations when they occur, the FCC said. 

In response to the action, commissioner Nathan Simington issued a statement saying, “I approve this item, though I am skeptical of its tentative conclusion that the Commission has authority to enact the proposed reporting requirements under Section 632(b) of the Act. While there are other valid sources of authority for the reporting requirements this item proposes, Section 632(b) is a considerably narrower provision than recent Commission action suggests.”

Faced with a growing problem of blackouts, the FCC noted in the NPR that “Currently, neither broadcast stations nor MVPDs are under any obligation to report to the Commission MVPD service disruptions involving broadcast programming.  Neither the Commission nor the public has a systematic method for learning of significant MVPD service disruptions involving broadcast programming.”

“Given the data discussed above, we are concerned about the increasing number and duration of broadcast station blackouts on MVPD platforms across the country and the Commission’s lack of ready access to basic information about such service disruptions,” the FCC added. 

To provide it with information that would help it access the impact of these disruptions, the FCC said that “We therefore propose requiring MVPDs to notify the Commission of any blackouts of a broadcast station or stations that occur on their systems due to a loss of retransmission consent, and we seek comment on this proposal.  Under this proposal, MVPDs would report incidents during which broadcast programming is disrupted for over 24 hours as a result of an inability to obtain a broadcast station’s consent to retransmit its signal.”

In the NPR it also said that “We seek comment on these understandings and this proposal.  For example, are there circumstances in which the broadcaster, rather than the MVPD, removes the broadcast station(s) from the MVPD’s platform? Alternatively, we seek comment on whether we should impose the reporting obligation solely on broadcasters or impose a joint blackout reporting requirement on both MVPDs and broadcasters.  Would adopting a broadcaster-only reporting requirement or imposing a joint reporting obligation on both MVPDs and broadcasters provide additional benefits to the public?  Do broadcasters have access to different, additional, or more timely information about blackouts that would be beneficial for the public to see in real-time?  If reporting obligations were the same for both parties, would the Commission need to address or attempt to resolve conflicting reports?  Instead of requiring broadcasters to report blackouts, should we rely instead on broadcasters voluntarily providing additional information to supplement blackout notices submitted by MVPDs they believe contain inaccurate or incomplete information?”

As part of the effort, the FCC also said “To streamline reporting, we propose creating an online reporting portal, modeled after the Commission’s Network Outage Reporting System (NORS).”

More information is available here.  

With the college football and the NFL seasons hitting high gear, that can only mean one thing: another potential affiliate blackout.

This time the feud is between Tegna and DirecTV, whose retrans contract expires Nov. 30. This weekend, Tegna—which owns 64 network affiliates in 14 markets—started running crawls warning subscribers to DirecTV satellite, DirecTV Stream and U-Verse that Tegna stations could soon be pulled from the satellite/streaming service. 

In typical fashion, both sides issued statements accusing the other of being the Scrooge:

"Thus far, DirecTV has refused to agree to such terms, which is why we have begun informing DirecTV and AT&T U-Verse customers that they may lose access to their local Tegna station and our valuable programming," Tegna said in a statement. "We hope that DirecTV is willing to negotiate a market-based deal before the November 30 deadline and doesn’t take away DirecTV and AT&T U-Verse customers’ local news, weather, sports and network programs."

DirecTV responded that “Tegna has once again made a private negotiation public in the hopes of creating unnecessary and premature concern among some of our customers to extract higher rates for local broadcast stations. Unfortunately, that’s become the industry norm as the costs for free local stations have soared more than 20 percent year upon year upon year despite declining popularity and less-compelling content. We will continue to meet our customers’ demands for greater choice and value and do our utmost to shield them from unwarranted price hikes as we work with Tegna to renew its stations without any interruption.”

(Read: Tegna: Merger Agreement with Standard General Is Terminated)

If Tegna follows through, DirecTV subscribers have several options: free over-the-air antenna, or accessing 21 of Tegna’s NBC affiliates on Peacock or 16 of Tegna’s CBS affiliates on Paramount Plus. 

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—Dish Network has reached a new multiyear carriage agreement with Hearst Television, Inc., ending a blackout of the Hearst-owned stations that began on September 8.  

“We’re pleased to have reached a long-term agreement that benefits all parties and most importantly, our customers,” said Gary Schanman, executive vice president and group president, video services, Dish Network. “Thank you to our customers for your patience and understanding as we worked through the negotiations.”

The blackout had impacted Dish customers' access to 37 local channels in 27 markets. 

The new deal, which was announced on Nov. 10, restores: Alburqueque, NM (KOAT), Baltimore, MD (WBAL), Birmingham, AL (WVTM), Boston, MA (WCVB & WMUR), Burlington, VT (WNNE & WPTZ),Cincinnati, OH (WLWT), Des Moines, IA (KCCI), Fort Myers, FL (WBBH), Fort Smith, AR (KHBS & KHBSD & KHOG), Greensboro, NC (WCWG & WXII), Greenville, SC (WYFF), Harrisburg, PA (WGAL), Jackson, MS (WAPT), Kansas City, MO (KCWE & KMBC), Louisville, KY (WLKY), Milwaukee, WI (WISN), Monterey, CA (KSBW & KSBWD), New Orleans, LA (WDSU), Oklahoma City, OK (KOCO), Omaha, NE (KETV), Orlando, FL (WESH & WKCF), Pittsburgh, PA (WTAE), Portland, ME (WMTW & WPXT), Sacramento, CA (KCRA & KQCA), Savannah, GA (WJCL), Tampa, FL (WMOR), West Palm Beach, FL (WPBF).

CINCINNATI—At a time when station groups have been engaging in increasingly heated negotiations with pay TV operators over retransmission fees, The E.W. Scripps Company has announced that it has successfully completed cable and satellite carriage agreements that account for about 75% of the company's subscriber households. 

The renewals expand the number of stations on which Scripps is paid a distribution fee, grow revenue and expand distribution margins and were achieved without blackouts, the company reported. 

In a statement Scripps president and CEO Adam Symson explained that the company created new value with the agreements, and especially without the need to resort to station blackouts that punish viewers and accelerate cord cutting.

"In resetting rates for the vast majority of our pay TV subscriber base this year, we reached agreements that reflect the mutual benefit of our relationship with these important distribution partners," Symson said. "In addition, we successfully negotiated to receive new distribution fees for television stations carrying local and regional sports. As we continue to sign new rights agreements in local markets, we fully expect to partner with distributors and garner distribution fees for the carriage of live sports."

Scripps pointed to the growth of live sports programming on its stations as a factor helping it boost the value of its retransmission agreements. 

On Oct. 5, Scripps announced a new agreement to televise all locally broadcast games of NHL's Arizona Coyotes in Arizona and Utah. Scripps also has an agreement with the Stanley Cup winner Vegas Golden Nights in Las Vegas, Utah, Idaho and Montana. Scripps also carries Big Sky Football Conference games in Montana and Idaho. In addition to its local sports rights agreements, Scripps Sports is a broadcast partner for the WNBA, televising its regular-season Friday night games nationally on the ION television network.

Scripps recently launched Scripps Sports and Scripps News programming on two full-power, independent stations in its existing markets of Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, where it already operates ABC-affiliated stations. The new stations, Vegas 34 and Utah 16, give Scripps 11 duopolies across the United States and will be new contributors to its distribution fee growth. Both are broadcast over Scripps-owned transmission towers that formerly broadcast ION programming, and ION is still carried on other spectrum in those markets.

For full-year 2023, Scripps also reported that it expects $750 million in Local Media division distribution revenue, nearly 15% growth over 2022 and a 40% increase in net distribution dollars.

Separate from any new fees associated with incremental Scripps Sports rights acquisitions, the company has 5% of its cable/satellite households renewing in 2024 and in the low 20% range in 2025.

"Scripps is now capturing full value for its pay TV households, and the robust growth in our net distribution margin dollars and gross revenue is a testament to the durable economics of the linear TV marketplace at a time when most streaming services themselves are unprofitable," Symson said. "At Scripps, we are pursuing an all-of-the-above strategy with the still-massive linear TV marketplace as our foundation, bolstered by the appeal of free TV over the air, and with aggressive distribution of our national and local brands on connected TV and virtual pay TV platforms."

In the latest dispute between broadcasters and virtual multichannel video program distributors (aks ‘vMVPDs), Sinclair Broadcast Group has removed its ABC affiliates from the Hulu Plus Live TV service, in an apparent disagreement over carriage terms between Sinclair and The Walt Disney Group, owner of Hulu and the ABC TV network. 

Although the live feeds have been removed, Hulu Plus Live subscribers still have access to ABC on-demand content. Hulu Plus Live, which costs $70 per month had 4.5 million subscribers at the end of 2022. Sinclair owns 27 ABC affliates in markets as small as Kirksville, Mo. to the largest, Washington D.C.

Although neither has issued any formal statements, Hulu tweeted the news last night:

This current dustup is the latest illustration of how traditional retrans disputes have now bled over from cable and satellite into the streaming realm. Unlike traditional pay-TV services—in which the pay-TV operators negotiate directly with local stations—in the case of vMPVDs, which have become increasingly competitive with pay-TV operators for viewers, networks negotiate carriage agreements for their affiliates directly with the streaming services, which include Hulu, Sling, FuboTV and YouTube TV.

Last month, a number of the nation’s largest station groups, including Nexstar, Sinclair, Hearst Tegna, Gray and Cox, removed their CBS affiliates in a similar dispute with FuboTV. Although many of the stations have since been restored to the FuboTV lineup, Nexstar, the nation’s largest station group, remains a holdout as of this week. 

“We are in a dispute with CBS right now over the Fubo situation,” Tom Carter said, in a report from Variety on Tuesday. “But keep in mind that virtual MVPDs contribute less than 10% of our distribution revenue and our distribution revenue is about half of our total revenue and Fubo is the smallest vMVPD we deal with. So we’re talking about a relatively minor amount of money, quite honestly, to both us and CBS. So it’s kind of easy to pick Fubo as a fight to have.”

ATLANTA—Cox Media Group has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Dish demanding the satellite provider retract what it says are numerous false claims designed to mislead customers about Dish’s decision to black-out CMG’s local television stations.

The current impasse, which started on Nov. 28, saw Dish pull the plug on 12 CMG stations in 9 markets after retransmission negotiations broke down. Cox accuses Dish of then issuing an “inaccurate” press release that included “knowingly false statements” about its decision to pull the CMG local broadcast stations from its own customers. These statements were “designed to mislead viewers and thereby harm the reputation of CMG in the marketplace,” according to the attorneys’ letter.

“That fact is, we asked DISH for an extension of our prior contract both in writing and verbally on several different occasions. CMG is now publicly asking Dish yet again to put our market-leading stations back on their satellite platform under the agreement that we both have operated under for years, and we’re again inviting them to finally start engaging in a meaningful good-faith negotiation of a new contract,” said Daniel York, President & CEO of CMG.

Cox accused Dish of “intentionally” misleading its subscribers by falsely claiming that CMG “refused to allow you to view their channels while we continue to negotiate,” when Cox says it “offered numerous extensions of the prior contract to allow Dish subscribers to watch CMG’s channels while the parties continued to negotiate,” the station group said in a statement. 

Cox also accused Dish of slandering the quality of the station groups’ journalism, and responded that CMG has in fact increased its investment in investigative journalism.

The standoff between DirecTV and White Knight Broadcasting and Mission Broadcasting continued Friday as the satellite provider accused the broadcast groups of “betraying the public trust,” by refusing to return their 25 local stations to the DirecTV lineup.

At issue is a retransmission dispute that prompted the two station groups—both managed by Nexstar Media— to  pull their stations from DirecTV a week ago after the two sides failed to come to an agreement.

Earlier this week, DirecTV asked White Knight and Mission to return their stations to its lineup during the mid-term election campaign and in exchange the satellite provider said it would pay the increase in retrans fees based on what the two sides would eventually agree on.

“This is a critical time in American political life,” DirecTV said. “We are less than two weeks from one of the most important  Congressional midterm elections in American History, and gubernatorial elections in 36 states. The results of  this midterm will have a profound impact on some of the most important political, public health and economic  issues of our time."  

White Knight and Mission denied DirecTV’s request. 

"White Knight Broadcasting and Mission Broadcasting, both actively managed by Nexstar Media Group, have flat-out refused our requests to return their 25 local stations to our customers in 23 media markets through the results of the Nov. 8 mid-term elections,” DirecTV said in a statement. “At the same time, our offer to return the stations and be compensated at a new future higher rate remains completely open, both station groups continue to use their Nexstar-managed news services to propagate the outright lie and misinformation that DIRECTV has ‘forced off’ or otherwise ‘removed’ the same stations.

“Each broadcaster involved has made clear that abandoning journalistic integrity and betraying the public trust are not only acceptable, but readily available, in their shameless pursuit of financial fortunes,” DirecTV added.

Mission Broadcasting President Dennis Thatcher told Broadcasting & Cable that they “definitely considered” DirecTV’s offer for the next 10 days, “but at this point we don’t feel like that's going to advance the ball.”

“All it will do is delay the inevitable and there's always the potential for another takedown,” he added.

Thatcher said that, instead, he would rather see the two sides reach an agreement that reflects the reality of today's media marketplace. 

“There’s a new normal in America and our costs have increased,” Thatcher said. “While our cost of programming continues to rise, we’re all adding more and more local programming and we think we’re adding more value. All we want is to be compensated for that value.”

DirecTV has asked two TV station groups to return their local stations to the DirecTV lineup for the next two weeks for the Nov. 8 midterm elections, and in essence suspending the current blackout. 

A total of 27 local stations owned by Mission Broadcasting and White Knight Broadcasting have been removed from DirecTV’s lineup while the groups battle it out over retrans fees. The two groups are managed and controlled by Nexstar Media Group, the nation’s largest TV station group.  

"DirecTV has a standing offer to  both Mission and White Knight, strongly urging the two broadcasters to return all stations immediately to  impacted DirecTV customers in 25 Nielsen DMAs,” the company said in a press release. “In return, DirecTV will pay Mission and White Knight  whatever higher retransmission consent rates the parties eventually agree upon retroactively to the date the  signals are reinstated."  

DirecTV accused Nexstar of shirking its public obligations. “Nexstar Media Group…is currently no longer allowing access to local programming and important political conversation ahead of the mid-terms to an estimated 4 million homes across the U.S.,” the company said.

White Knight Broadcasting pulled its NBC and Fox affiliates from DirecTV on Oct. 7. Nexstar then pulled its  local broadcast stations and national news service NewsNation from Verizon Fios on Oct. 14. Mission  went dark on DirecTV on Oct. 21.  

“This is a critical time in American political life,” DirecTV added. “We are less than two weeks from one of the most important  Congressional midterm elections in American History, and gubernatorial elections in 36 states. The results of  this midterm will have a profound impact on some of the most important political, public health and economic  issues of our time."  

DirecTV accused the station groups of hypocrisy, saying that if the broadcast industry is so vital to the public square, then it should back it up with more than words.

"Broadcasters like Nexstar, Mission and White Knight claim a unique and special role in delivering news to  Americans,” DirecTV said. “The broadcast industry is, even now, asking Congress to provide it with special regulatory  protections… During the COVID-19 global pandemic in March 2020, Mission and Nexstar returned stations to DISH customers  that had been suspended since Jan. 3 to keep citizens informed as the health crisis unfolded. DirecTV now calls  upon Mission and White Knight to return stations operated by Nexstar through the conclusion of the critical  mid-term election while the parties continue to work privately toward a new agreement.”

A Nexstar spokesman told TV Tech sister brand NextTV not to involve them in the dispute.

"Despite DirecTV’s allegations, Nexstar is not a party to these negotiations and does not control any of these television stations,” Nexstar spokesman Gary Weitman said. ”These stations are owned by Mission Broadcasting, Inc., and White Knight Broadcasting, not Nexstar.” 

WASHINGTON—The FCC did not agree with Gray TV that Frontier Communications failed to negotiate in good faith, as well as meet other notification requirements, in the two sides’ recent retransmission dispute.

On Dec. 18, 2020, Frontier removed three Gray TV stations from its systems as the previous transmission consent agreement expired. A few days later on Dec. 22, Gray TV filed a good faith negotiation complaint against Frontier; it also claimed that Frontier violated customer notice requirements regarding service disruptions.

When it comes to good faith negotiations, the FCC specifically looks at whether a negotiating entity refused to negotiate regarding retransmission consent, but failure in itself is not an indicator of failing to negotiate in good faith. Also, a negotiating entity must designate a representative to have the authority to make binding representations on retransmission consent. In addition, proposals that are deemed “sufficiently outrageous” based on circumstances could point to a failure to negotiate in good faith.

In regards to customer notification, the FCC requires cable operators to notify subscribers of changes in service at least 30 days in advance of the change, “unless the change results from circumstances outside of the cable operator’s control,” which can include failed negotiations during the last 30 days of a contract.

Frontier filed a response with the FCC in January, saying that the two sides disagreed over the value of Gray’s stations. It also refuted claims by Gray that it had decided a month prior that it was going to drop the stations, evidenced by the removal of the stations from its channel lineup.

The FCC provided details in its decision that say Frontier and Gray did negotiate prior to the previous retransmission consent agreement expired, exchanging at least eight drafts of the renewal agreement. In regards to the channels being removed from the lineup, Frontier says that it did not remove them until it was clear the an agreement would not be reached, but in its haste to notify customers it failed to update the date on the channel lineup card.

Ultimately, the FCC sided with Frontier.

“[W]e agree with Frontier that it complied with the obligation to negotiate retransmission consent in good faith, including its per se obligation to negotiate retransmission consent, its per obligation to designate a representative with authority to make a binding representations on retransmission consent and compliance with the totality of the circumstances test. We also find that Frontier fulfilled its customer notice obligations,” the FCC said.

The full decision is available online. 

WASHINGTON—The Modern Television Act of 2021, from House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), has officially been introduced, which at its heart looks to repeal regulations that would help prevent future station blackouts as part of retransmission negotiations.

According to the press release announcing the legislation, there were 327 station blackouts in 2020, removing channels from viewers as part of negotiations between MVPDs and broadcasters.

“Until we modernize outdated video laws, blackouts will continue to happen while market prices surge,” said Rep. Eshoo. “I’m proud to partner with Congressman Scalise to introduce this legislation to protect consumers, encourage market competition, lower prices, and bring an end to broadcast blackouts.”

The Modern Television Act of 2021 would repeal regulations from the 1992 Cable Act. The new bill proposes the following:

• Requiring MVPDs carry a broadcast signal while the parties continue negotiations for up to 60 days, with parties being retroactively paid for their content aired during that time. 
• Repeal transmission consent, compulsory copyright licenses and other outdated statutory provisions and regulations to allow free-market contract negotiations to happen under traditional copyright law. 
• Establishing an optional mechanism for the FCC to compel parties to seek “baseball-style” binding arbitration through a neutral third-party arbitrator following an extended impasse or finding of bad faith. Would protect against blackouts and pays copyright holders for their content during the arbitration process. 
• Preempt federal, state and local authority to regulate rates of cable services. 
• Requiring the Government Accountability Office to report specific metrics about the impact of this Act on consumer and the marketplace every two years. If a net negative is determined, the FCC must recommend policy changes to Congress. 
• Ensuring consumers have access to local programming by retaining the ability of a local TV broadcast station to require carriage on cable and satellite providers in their local market. 

“Congress needs to finally modernize the outdated 1992 video laws that no longer fit today’s technology. Our bill brings back basic copyright protection laws, so that everyone gets paid for their products, and consumers get to choose whatever they want to buy, wherever they want to buy it and watch whatever they want on any device they choose,” said Scalise.

The American Television Alliance, which has been highly critical when blackouts occur, praised the proposed legislation.

“After broadcasters set records for retransmission blackouts during a public health crisis over the last year, it is more urgent than ever this legislation be advanced,” said Jessica Kendust, an ATVA spokesperson. “We commend Representatives Eshoo and Scalise for their foresight and understanding that now is the time to update this nearly 30-year-old system for the benefit of American television consumers.”

“This bill has the right approach: Instead of continuing to tweak the current cumbersome and duplicative system of compulsory copyright licenses, with broadcaster retransmission consent negotiations layered on top, it would shift the video marketplace to one based purely on privately-negotiated copyright,” added John Bergmayer, legal director, Public Knowledge. “At the same time, it would eliminate a number of protectionist rules that have outlived any usefulness they may once have had.”

NAB, on the other hand, has come out in opposition against the bill, saying that it would eliminate the legal underpinnings of the local broadcast system.

“NAB continues to oppose legislation that undermines the foundation of broadcast television,” said Ann Marie Cumming, NAB senior vice president of Communications, in a statement. “Every day, Americans rely on local broadcast TV stations for news, weather, investigative journalism, public affairs programming, sports, popular entertainment and emergency information—including critical lifeline coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic during the past year. We strongly urge policymakers to work with broadcasters on preserving and strengthening a local broadcasting system that provides immeasurable service to our communities.”

WASHINGTON—After Gray Television’s WWSB-TV was pulled from Frontier Communications channel lineups on Dec. 18, Gray TV made an official complaint that Frontier has not negotiated in good faith on a new retransmission agreement. However, as detailed in a response to the allegations, Frontier tells the FCC that the issue in negotiations is the gap in perceived value of the Gray TV station.

Gray’s allegations specifically argue that Frontier failed to negotiate in good faith and failed to notify customers “as soon as possible” once Frontier knew it would no longer have Gray TV’s consent to retransmit WWSB. However, according to Frontier’s filing to the commission, it participated in 25 days of negotiations and made three offers to have WWSB return to its lineup.

“The simple fact is that Frontier and Gray disagree over the value of Grays’ stations,” the filing reads. “... Gray now cries foul because Frontier did not agree with the financial terms that Gray wanted to force on Frontier and its customers.” Frontier argues that just because the two sides differed on terms is not a lack of good faith.

According to Frontier, Gray's claim that Frontier had known for a month that it would not extend its retransmission agreement and, per Fronter, that it removed Gray’s stations from its online channel guides several weeks before the deal expired or even negotiations began is inaccurate. Frontier says that it did not update its customer-facing channel guide until shortly after the agreement had expired, adhering FCC requirements.

Back in September, the FCC updated its notification rules in regard to carriage disruptions, which gave cable ops providers more flexibility.

“This retransmission consent negotiation was no different than the hundreds of other negotiations across the cable television industry,” Frontier said. “Gray’s complaint is simply an attempt by a broadcaster to add additional leverage to the retransmission consent process – either accept our last offer or we will claim that all your offers we rejected were fake and you never meant to reach agreement. Ultimately, the parties could not reach an agreement on the value of the stations but that does not render the negotiations a façade on Frontier’s end. The Commission should deny the Complaint.”

The full Frontier response is available online. 

TYSONS CORNER, Va.—Tegna says that it is continuing to work to return its stations to AT&T’s DirecTV and U-Verse services, saying that a deal would come if AT&T would negotiate in good faith.

“We are continuing to work hard to reach a fair, market-based agreement with AT&T,” Tegna said in a statement on Friday, Dec. 18. “We are committed to getting our stations back on AT&T’s systems as soon as possible. Our viewers shouldn’t miss another weekend of NCAA and NFL football, not to mention their local news, weather and sports updates and their favorite network programming. The solution to this situation is a fair deal based on the market. If AT&T is willing to negotiate in good faith, we are confident we can get a deal done quickly.”

Sixty-four Tegna stations across 51 markets, reaching 41.7 million households, were impacted by this blackout that began on Dec. 1, resulting from Tegna and AT&T not being able to reach a retransmission agreement. Both sides have pointed the finger at the other, with AT&T claiming that Tegna is asking for “unwarranted increases” to their fees.

The American Television Alliance also laid the blame at Tegna’s feet.

Tegna, however, says that it has been able to reach retransmission deals with other cable and satellite providers without disruption of services.

WASHINGTON—The group of broadcasters that were fined by the FCC for failure to negotiate retransmission consent in good faith—the first instance of a fine being levied on that basis—continue to fight the historic charge.

In September, the FCC voted to deny an appeal that eight station groups failed to negotiate in good faith on retransmission consent with AT&T. The fine covered 18 stations in total, with each charged more than $500,000, bringing the total fine to more than $10 million.

Now, the station groups have jointly filed a response to the FCC, claiming that the commission erred in its decision and cannot impose the fines.

The station groups consist of Deerfield Media, GoCom Media, Howard Stirk Holdings, HSH, Mercury Broadcasting, MPS Media, KMTR Television, Second Generation of Iowa and Watt Broadcasting. One of the groups’ main arguments is that AT&T attempted to make the process of joint negotiations with these stations, which they point out is allowed by the FCC, prohibitively difficult and that ultimately led to the crux of AT&T’s arguments for why the groups had failed to negotiate in good faith.

“AT&T has attempted for years to persuade the commission to prohibit joint negotiations, but those efforts have been unsuccessful,” the comments read. “So when defendants sought in 2019 to jointly negotiate renewals of the 2016 agreements, AT&T tried to stymie their efforts.”

For its part, AT&T pointed out in its original complaint that all the stations involved were "managed and controlled by Sinclair Broadcast Group through some type of shared services agreement." In December 2019, the FCC's Media Bureau found that the stations had failed to negotiate in good faith with DirecTV and U-Verse (AT&T). The FCC said in granting the complaint that the stations had unreasonably delayed negotiations, including by not responding to AT&T proposals.

The station groups’ joint comments also address the severity of the fines, saying that the more than $500,000 fine for each station is “grossly excessive” and should instead be reduced to $25,000 per station. In an individual filing, Mercury Broadcasting argued for this reduction since it only owns a single station involved in these negotiations and has “demonstrated inability to pay and history of past compliance.”

The FCC says that it originally fined the stations the $10 million total amount because of the harm that each station going dark had on viewers.

The maximum fines had bipartisan support among the FCC commissioners, with Michael O’Rielly and Geoffrey Starks both voicing their support.

WICHITA FALLS, Texas—Dish subscribers in 21 markets lost access to Mission Broadcasting television stations over the weekend when the contract between Dish and Mission expired on Sept. 11.

In addition to the loss of local news, weather and traffic provided by these stations, the removal came just as the NFL season was about to kick-off in full swing, in addition to the NBA and NHL playoffs and the college football season.

Mission Broadcasting President Dennis Thatcher says that Dish is taking advantage of its subscribers, putting them in the middle of a contract dispute.

“All we are asking for is the same fair agreement we have come to with each of our cable, satellite and telco providers,” said Thatcher. “Mission has a long track record of negotiating fairly and avoiding service interruptions in our markets. That’s simply not the case with Dish.”

Dish has said that it remains open to reaching an agreement with Mission that is fair to its customers.

This is the second instance of a retrans dispute between Dish and Mission in 2020, following an instance in January when 18 stations went dark. They were brought back on air in March as a result of temporary deals at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic; the deals were eventually extended as the pandemic worsened.

Here are the stations that are impacted by this current black out:

•  KLJB, Davenport-Rock Island-Moline, Iowa; 
•  KPEJ (Fox), Odessa-Midland, Texas; 
•  KMSS (Fox), Shreveport, La.; 
•  KRBC (NBC), Abilene-Sweetwater, Texas; 
•  KCIT (Fox), Amarillo, Texas; 
•  KCPN (MNT), Amarillo, Texas; 
•  WVNY (ABC), Bennington County, Vt.; 
•  KHMT (Fox), Billings, Mont.; 
•  WVNY (ABC), Burlington, Vt.-Plattsburg, N.Y.; 
•  WFXP (Fox), Erie, Pa.; 
•  WTVW (CW), Evansville, Ind.; 
•  KFQX (Fox) Grand Junction-Montrose, Colo.; 
•  KODE (ABC), Joplin, Mo.-Pittsburg, Kan.; 
•  KASN (CW), Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Ark.; 
•  KLRT (Fox), Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Ark.; 
•  KAMC (ABC), Lubbock, Texas; 
•  KTVE (NBC) Monroe, La.-El Dorado, Ark.; 
•  WTVO (ABC) Rockford, Ill.; 
•  KASN (NBC), San Angelo, Texas; 
•  KOLR (CBS), Springfield, Mo.; 
•  WAWV (ABC), Terre Haute, Ind.; 
•  WUTR (ABC), Utica, N.Y.; 
•  KJBO (MNT), Wichita Falls-Lawton, Texas; 
•  KJTL (Fox), Wichita Falls-Lawston, Texas; 
•  WYOU (CBS), Wilkes Barre-Scranton, Pa.; 
•  WVNY (ABC), Windham County, Vt.  

WASHINGTON—MVPDs’ arguments that broadcasters have undue bargaining power when it comes to retransmission consent negotiations hold little water, according to the NAB in comments filed to the FCC. In addition, the organization said that the FCC should apply ownership limits to MVPDs’ multicast streams and to LPTV stations.

This all came in as a response to reply comments on the FCC’s request for input on the upcoming Communications Marketplace Report on the state of media competition that will be given to Congress.

PLUS: ATVA: Retrans Disputes Top Problems of Broadcast Competition

NAB said that the complaints from MVPDs regarding retransmission consent have been used multiple times, but still have no bearing on the need to reform local TV ownership rules.

“As NAB has explained innumerable times, MVPDs’ unhappiness about paying retransmission consent fees does not mean that TV broadcasters have any undue bargaining power over MVPDs; that those fees are, in any economic sense, too high; or that changes to FCC rules intended to enhance large pay-TV/broadband companies’ position at the negotiating table are in any way justified,” the NAB filing reads.

Rather, NAB makes the case that because of the coronavirus pandemic that has impacted broadcasters with a blow to the advertising market and local TV station revenue, the need for broadcasters to form competitively viable ownership structures so that they can continue to serve their local communities has been confirmed.

NAB had previously commented on the topic by saying that there should be an expansion of regulated competitors and deregulations on ownership rules.

For more information, read NAB’s full comments online. 

WASHINGTON—AT&T was correct in a complaint it filed arguing that nine station groups were not negotiating a new retransmission agreement in good faith, according to the FCC.

The complaint, filed in June, said that the stations failed to negotiated in good father for consent to carry the signals of 20 broadcast TV stations. As a result, the stations have been blacked out for AT&T video subscribers since the final extensions to the previous retransmission agreement ended, which to date has been five months.

“[W]e find that Defendants’ violated the per se good father negotiation standards,” the FCC’s opinion reads. “We therefore grant AT&T’s Complaint, and direct the parties to commence good faith negotiations.”

The licensees listed in the complaint are Deerfield Media, GoCom Media, Howard Stirk Holdings, HSH, Mercury Broadcasting, MPS Media, KMTR Television, Secont Generation of Iowa and Waitt Broadcasting. AT&T stated in its complaint that all of these station groups were “managed and controlled by Sinclair Broadcast Group through some type of shared services agreement.”

The FCC said that the defendants showed a persistent refusal to negotiate, caused unreasonable delays in negotiations and failed to respond to AT&T’s proposals. While broadcasters do not have a legal obligation to come to terms on a deal, they are required by the FCC and the STELAR Act to negotiate in good faith.

The station groups argued that they were negotiating jointly with AT&T and that their common agent for the negotiations, in this case Max Retrans, was responsible and as long as it was engaged they were in compliance with their good faith negotiation obligations.

The commission disagrees.

“[I]t is not impermissible for Defendant Stations to participate in joint negotiations with AT&T. … However, stations in different markets that choose to negotiate jointly do not gain any special status under the good faith rules; each such station remains ultimately responsible for its own compliance.”

The FCC chose not to fine any of the stations at this time, but said that it reserves the right to return to these issues.

According to AT&T, as of Thursday, Nov. 7, it has reached a retransmission agreement with three of the nine broadcasters involved in the complaint (Deerfield, GoCom and Second Generation of Iowa) and “continue to push for progress with the others.”

TVT’s sister publication, B&C, provides some additional details on how the two sides view this ruling as it relates to STELAR.

Despite a weekend meeting between AT&T and Nexstar to return Nexstar’s TV stations to AT&T’s DirecTV platform, the dispute continues.

On July 3, more than 120 Nexstar Media Group TV stations went dark for AT&T/DirecTV customers throughout the country as a result of failed retransmission negotiations. Stations in 97 markets were impacted by the blackout, which began at 11:59 p.m. on July 3. Both companies claim they are negotiating in good faith, however the failure from the weekend meeting didn’t stop them from continuing their war of words.

AT&T claims Nexstar wants to increase fees for carrying their local TV stations “far beyond their value.” Nexstar claims that AT&T—which recently dried the ink on an $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner—of using its newfound power within the pay-TV industry unfairly.

“A little more than a year after putting DirecTV together with Time Warner, AT&T appears intent on using its new market power to prioritize its own content at the expense of consumers, and insisting on unreasonable terms that are inconsistent with the market,” Nexstar said over the weekend.

AT&T claims that Nexstar is “reducing consumer choice” by pulling its stations from the DirecTV lineup, denying its subscribers to view free over-the-air television provided by broadcast networks that have “together lost about half their primetime audience over the past few years.”

Nexstar even accused AT&T of misrepresenting its role to regulators in past disputes with other pay-TV providers.

“The misinformation campaign began when AT&T indicated that “Nexstar pulled 120 of its local broadcast stations…” Nexstar said in a statement. “Nexstar did not pull its stations or ask for their removal from AT&T’s DirecTV, U-verse or DirecTV Now platforms. Rather, Nexstar’s offer for a 30 day extension would have allowed consumers in the affected markets to continue viewing their favorite network shows, special events, sports, local news and other programming while the parties continue negotiations.”

It also said that AT&T claimed that Nexstar had been involved in blackouts with Cox Cable, DISH Network, Charter Spectrum “and others.” “In fact, Nexstar has never had DISH Network or Charter Spectrum remove its stations from their consumer video offerings,” Nexstar said.

The dispute has prompted numerous calls from members of Congress to return the stations to DirecTV while the two companies negotiate. 

DALLAS—As its retransmission dispute with Nexstar continues, which has caused the blackout of more than 120 stations across the country, AT&T has announced that it is providing its customers access to local emergency weather information while traditional local news stations are off-air.

“These emergency information services will feature local news coverage from affected cities, including ones where Nexstar is currently withholding stations, and allow customers to follow any emergency weather from city to city as conditions may progress,” the company wrote in an update on the negotiation process.

This service would help address a key concern raised by Washington, D.C., legislators over the blackout that impacted viewers were not able to access critical information typically provided by their local broadcast stations.

Nexstar’s stations have been off of AT&T since July 3. Nexstar claims that the stations were removed only after AT&T rejected an extension that would last until Aug. 2 as the two sides continued to negotiate a retransmission agreement, while AT&T says that Nexstar has been asking for retransmission fees at record highs, despite lowering performance numbers.

In its update, AT&T said that it is scheduled to meet with Nexstar on Friday, July 12, to continue negotiations.