blackouts

Cox Media Group said its television stations are no longer available to DirecTV subscribers because of a retransmission consent dispute. The previous distribution agreement expired Feb. 2. CMG has 12 stations in nine markets.

Comcast and Imagicomm reached a retransmission consent agreement Tuesday, ending a month-long blackout. The deal restores WHBQ Memphis and KAYU Spokane to Xfinity cable subscribers.

Federal lawmakers this week expressed their frustration over rising cable and satellite television prices and numerous programming blackouts that have resulted in many of their constituents losing access to local news, network shows and live sports on pay TV systems several times over the last few years. Pictured: Three industry witnesses participating in the hearing, l-r: Curtis LeGeyt, CEO, NAB; Grant Spellmeyer, CEO, ACA Connects; David Gandler, CEO, Fubo. (House Committee on Energy & Commerce)

The blackout of CBS affiliates on FuboTV reflects the increasing tension between broadcast networks and their affiliates as TV pivots to streaming. “Having worked around public and private TV broadcasters these last few years, we think dynamics between national networks and station operators are increasingly strained,” Wells Fargo media analyst Steven Cahall said.

With their distribution agreement set to expire Friday, Fox and Altice are warning viewers they could be facing a programming blackout Friday at midnight. The dispute over retransmission and cable carriage fees could affect stations including WNYW New York and cable channels FS1, FS2, Fox News, Fox Business Network and the Big Ten Network, and comes at a time when Fox has a heavy sports lineup, including NFL games, college football and Major League Baseball playoffs.

Dish is now without at least 106 channels due to 11 different carriage battles that span from last Wednesday night to 30 months ago. The blacked-out channels include 75 local network affiliates, and 31 regional sports networks.

YouTube TV’s carriage deal with The Walt Disney Co. expires Friday, and YouTube TV says that if a blackout occurs, it will give subscribers a $15 price cut while content such as Grey’s Anatomy and SportsCenter is unavailable. Disney began warning YouTube TV subscribers of a potential blackout Monday.

Tegna’s stations were blacked out to Dish TV’s 3 million subscribers Wednesday evening after the two companies were unable to reach a new retransmission deal. The blackout affects Dish customers in 53 markets.

The organization cites five times that Cox Media has pulled stations just ahead of the big game.

While the end of the year appeared to be pretty quiet on the retransmission consent front with only a few disputes ongoing in 2021’s first week, 2020 was another record year for blackouts, as 336 TV stations went dark to pay TV customers vs. 278 in the prior year, according to cable industry group the American Television Alliance.

There are no winners on the local front when it comes to station blackouts, but stations can maintain goodwill by answering irate viewers’ calls, keeping clients informed and calling viewers when carriage is restored.

Nexstar Media has begun criticizing Dish Network in commercials on its stations as the retransmission dispute that has blacked out channels in 115 markets enters its third week.

Retransmission consent battles have become as much of a year-end tradition as eggnog and holly, and 2020 is no different, with at least two disputes brewing and certainly more to come. Tegna and Nexstar kicked off this year’s station negotiation season with blackouts.

Dish Network said that its subscribers lost access to the signal from stations bought by Apollo Global Management in 10 markets at 7 p.m.  Saturday as retransmission consent negotiations failed. Apollo acquired the stations from Northwest Broadcasting last year.

Hearst Television, after granting four temporary extensions to DirecTV and streaming service AT&T TV Now to try to hammer out a deal, pulled its 34 broadcast stations from the satellite giant’s customers Friday evening, after the parties failed to reach a retransmission consent agreement.

Regional sports network Altitude has reached a new carriage deal with AT&T’s DirecTV, ending a two-month blackout. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Fox-owned TV stations in 17 markets as well as FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, Fox Soccer Plus and Fox Deportes have gone dark on Dish Network in the latest carriage dispute to throw a wrench into the pay-TV ecosystem. The dispute affects Dish’s 12 million satellite households as well as millions more who subscribe to the internet-delivered bundle Sling TV, in 23 states and Washington, D.C.

The second-ranking House Republican and a key Democrat say they’ll push to end broadcasters’ ability to black out signals during negotiations with cable and satellite service providers.
Republican Whip Steve Scalise and senior Energy and Commerce Committee member Anna Eshoo said Monday they will unveil a bill in the coming weeks. It’s likely to set off a fierce lobbying battle between broadcasters, which would lose negotiating leverage, and cable providers, which stand to benefit.

NBCUniversal’s Telemundo station and cable networks have been blacked out to Liberty Cablevision’s Puerto Rico subscribers in a carriage fee dispute. The agreement was set to expire at the end of 2019, but the pact included an opt-out clause, effective March 31. A deal appeared to be close, but fell through, NBCU said.

Tegna television stations in three markets — Washington, D.C. (WUSA-CBS), Norfolk, Va. (WVEC-ABC) and Buffalo, N.Y. (WGRZ-NBC) — went dark to Verizon Communications Fios TV customers on Monday at 5 p.m. ET, after the parties failed to reach a retransmission consent agreement.

Tegna and Dish Network said they reached a multi-year carriage agreement just hours after Tegna’s stations went dark to Dish subscribers Saturday morning. The companies said that the stations’ signals will be restored to the Dish lineup immediately.

Whether you still use a coaxial cable to watch television or have converted to streaming, get used to channel blackouts and general confusion over which TV services carry your favorite programs.