Business
Viewers Deprived of Critical Local News, Important Weather Updates, Women’s World Cup Soccer Matches, and MLB All-Star Game, Following DIRECTV’s Removal of 159 Nexstar Local TV Stations in 113 Markets and National Cable News Network NewsNation
DIRECTV Rejects Nexstar’s Offer to Extend Agreement to October 31 DIRECTV Puts More Than Ten Million Subscribers in the Middle, Rather than Reach Fair
About this update from Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nDIRECTV Rejects Nexstar’s Offer to Extend Agreement to October 31\n\n\nDIRECTV Puts More Than Ten Million Subscribers in the Middle, Rather than Reach Fair Agreement\n\n\nLos Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Denver Markets Affected \n\n\n IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\n\nTonight at 7 p.m. ET, DIRECTV removed from its satellite, cable, and streaming systems the network and local community programming provided to more than ten million of its subscribers by 159 local television stations owned by Nexstar Media Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXST) (“Nexstar”). The disruption in service affects DIRECTV, Uverse and DIRECTV Stream subscribers. DIRECTV and Nexstar were unable to reach a new distribution agreement allowing the DIRECTV the right to continue airing the highly-rated programming on Nexstar’s local stations. In addition, DIRECTV rejected Nexstar’s offer to extend the current distribution agreement to October 31, 2023.\n\n\nAs a result, millions of Americans across the country have lost their access to local news, traffic, weather, sports, and entertainment programming, critical updates regarding summer storms and tornadoes, as well as the upcoming battle in soccer for the Women’s World Cup, and Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game.\n\n\nDIRECTV and Nexstar were also unable to reach an agreement to allow DIRECTV the right to continue carrying Nexstar’s national cable news network, NewsNation. Millions of DIRECTV subscribers have lost access to the news and analysis of such shows as “Elizabeth Vargas Reports,” “Cuomo,” “Dan Abrams Live,” and “Banfield.”\n\n\nNexstar has been negotiating tirelessly and in good faith in an attempt to reach a mutually agreeable multi-year contract with DIRECTV since May, offering the same fair market rates it offered to other distribution partners with whom it completed successful negotiations in the past year. Nexstar routinely reaches amicable retransmission and carriage agreements with its cable, satellite, and telco partners—in the last three years alone, the company has successfully completed agreements with more than 500 distribution partners.\n\n\nFollowing DIRECTV’s actions, subscribers in 113 Nexstar markets including Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Denver, have lost access to thousands of hours of vitally...