Cox Media Group and DirecTV reached a new multiyear agreement on Sunday that restores all Cox stations on DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-Verse, effective immediately. The deal was announced early Sunday afternoon, a little under two hours before kickoff at the Super Bowl
The stations went dark on Feb. 3 as a result of a standoff between Cox and DirecTV. The impasse included 12 stations in nine metro areas, according to DirecTV.
During the dispute, DirecTV noted that this was an “all too familiar path” for Cox, stating that Cox pulled its channels from DirecTV during a renewal dispute in 2021 and that a deal was reached just hours before that year’s Super Bowl. It noted that Cox channels were taken off rival Dish Network back in November 2022 and have yet to return, also citing either threats or the channels being removed from a variety of other cable providers.
“While we’ve been signing dozens of fair-market carriage deals that bring our high-quality programming to more than 50 million viewers, DirecTV has been dropping hundreds of TV stations and depriving its customers of the local content they want and paid DirecTV for,” Cox EVP Marian Pittman said in a statement. “We call on DirecTV to stop holding viewers hostage to its anti-consumer agenda.”
At last, the fight is over. In a statement released Sunday, Cox Media Group and DirecTV said they “greatly appreciate the patience of their subscribers and viewers.”
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