DirecTV, Tegna Point Fingers at Each Other for Blackout
DirecTV and Tegna are blaming one another for a blackout of 66 Tegna stations in 52 metro regions by DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-verse channel lineups. It started Thursday night with the expiration of their retransmission consent agreement. Backing DirecTV,…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
American TV Alliance said in a statement Friday that the blackout "represents more of the same tired old tactics from TEGNA’s well-worn playbook that come entirely at the expense of American consumers. The FCC and Congress must take a stand and protect consumers." DirecTV said it has offered a la carte pricing where Tegna would set prices for its stations' subscribers but that Tegna is "demanding double-digit annual rate increases that would make it the most expensive broadcaster nationwide." Tegna said that "despite months of effort, DIRECTV has refused to reach a fair, market-based agreement. We urge DIRECTV to continue to negotiate with us until a deal is reached that restores our stations to their customers."