DirecTV, AT&T U-verse and the AT&T TV streaming service no longer has TEGNA stations on its service, including the NBC affiliate WXIA-TV (11Alive) in Atlanta.
It also means no access to TEGNA-owned sister station WATL-TV, which airs 11Alive’s local news programming in the evening.
The blackout nationwide affects 51 markets and 60 stations and began at 7 p.m. EST on Tuesday.
TEGNA is asking for more money — called retransmission fees — for access to its stations than AT&T is willing to pony up.
AT&T, without providing specifics, said in a statement that “TEGNA is demanding the largest rate increase we have ever seen.... We challenge TEGNA to return its local stations immediately while we finalize a new agreement and pledge to pay TEGNA retroactively whatever higher rates to which we eventually agree. We share our customers’ frustration, appreciate their patience and intend to do all we can to resolve this matter soon.”
TEGNA, in a statement, argued that “the value of what we offer to our pay-TV partners has never been greater. The differentiated, non-substitutable programming we provide including live local news, live local and national sports, and first run, highly popular network content is a vital reason why consumers continue to subscribe to pay-TV bundles.”
11Alive, besides its local news operations, airs “The Today Show,” “Wheel of Fortune,” “Jeopardy,” “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” “Days of Our Lives,” “Dr. Phil” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” In prime-time, NBC offers “The Voice,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Chicago Hope” and “Superstore,” to name a few.
TEGNA noted in its statement that “while we remain hopeful that this will get resolved quickly, our viewers should know that our channels are available on other service providers in their community as well as many streaming services that offer instant access when viewers sign up. As always, our stations are also available for free over-the-air, and viewers can watch our newscasts live on our stations’ websites, Roku and mobile apps.”
These types of disputes pop up from time to time. Since late July, DishTV has been in a similar dispute with Apollo Global Management, including WSB-TV, which has not been available to local Dish subscribers for more than four months.
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