In the run up to the NBA and NHL finals, 54 local E.W. Scripps stations have gone dark on DirecTV streaming, satellite and U-verse pay TV platforms. The stations were removed from the services at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday May 31 after Scripps and DirecTV failed to agree on a new retransmission consent agreement.
In a press release regarding the blackout, DirecTV claimed that “Scripps is demanding the highest rates DirecTV has ever received from a station group, which would continue to dramatically raise costs for consumers and businesses already struggling with affordability. After DirecTV declined those demands and sought a more reasonable agreement, Scripps chose to remove its stations from viewers in several major markets nationwide.”
In response, Scripps issued a statement to TV Tech saying it "has been engaging in good-faith negotiations with DirecTV to establish an equitable agreement that serves both companies and, most importantly, consumers. Regrettably, DirecTV has elected to remove Scripps local stations from their lineup, employing the same heavy-handed tactics that have become synonymous with pay-TV operators who hurt their own subscribers by using them as bargaining chips in contractual disputes. By contrast, Scripps stations have gone dark only twice since we began broadcasting in the 1940s."
Scripps also stressed that viewers can still watch their content using an antenna or on other pay TV services like YouTube TV and Fubo.
"Scripps remains committed to reaching a fair resolution that restores our local stations to DirecTV’s paying subscribers," the station group continued. "At stake is our viewers’ fundamental access to trusted local journalism, critical weather alerts, emergency information and live sports programming that strengthens community bonds – all essential public interest content in which Scripps invests substantially every day."
DirecTV said that Scripps has suspended stations in cities including Baltimore, Boise, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Lexington, Miami, Milwaukee, Nashville, Omaha, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Tampa-St. Petersburg, and West Palm Beach, among others.
In response to the dispute, DirecTV also complained that “Scripps and its peers continue to remove content from American viewers in hopes of enriching their bottom lines. Scripps removed 40 of its stations from Comcast Xfinity customers in 19 of these same cities for more than a month, starting April 1.”
“We understand customers are frustrated by temporarily losing their usual access to Scripps stations and the local news, network programming, and live sports they provide,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer at DirecTV. “Unfortunately, Scripps is demanding the highest rates we have ever seen for programming that remains available for free over-the-air and through many station, network, and third-party streaming apps. We remain committed to protecting customers from indiscriminate and unnecessary cost increases for less popular programming while still working to restore the stations that many viewers rely on.”
