DirecTV has asked two TV station groups to return their local stations to the DirecTV lineup for the next two weeks for the Nov. 8 midterm elections, and in essence suspending the current blackout.
A total of 27 local stations owned by Mission Broadcasting and White Knight Broadcasting have been removed from DirecTV’s lineup while the groups battle it out over retrans fees. The two groups are managed and controlled by Nexstar Media Group, the nation’s largest TV station group.
"DirecTV has a standing offer to both Mission and White Knight, strongly urging the two broadcasters to return all stations immediately to impacted DirecTV customers in 25 Nielsen DMAs,” the company said in a press release. “In return, DirecTV will pay Mission and White Knight whatever higher retransmission consent rates the parties eventually agree upon retroactively to the date the signals are reinstated."
DirecTV accused Nexstar of shirking its public obligations. “Nexstar Media Group…is currently no longer allowing access to local programming and important political conversation ahead of the mid-terms to an estimated 4 million homes across the U.S.,” the company said.
White Knight Broadcasting pulled its NBC and Fox affiliates from DirecTV on Oct. 7. Nexstar then pulled its local broadcast stations and national news service NewsNation from Verizon Fios on Oct. 14. Mission went dark on DirecTV on Oct. 21.
“This is a critical time in American political life,” DirecTV added. “We are less than two weeks from one of the most important Congressional midterm elections in American History, and gubernatorial elections in 36 states. The results of this midterm will have a profound impact on some of the most important political, public health and economic issues of our time."
DirecTV accused the station groups of hypocrisy, saying that if the broadcast industry is so vital to the public square, then it should back it up with more than words.
"Broadcasters like Nexstar, Mission and White Knight claim a unique and special role in delivering news to Americans,” DirecTV said. “The broadcast industry is, even now, asking Congress to provide it with special regulatory protections… During the COVID-19 global pandemic in March 2020, Mission and Nexstar returned stations to DISH customers that had been suspended since Jan. 3 to keep citizens informed as the health crisis unfolded. DirecTV now calls upon Mission and White Knight to return stations operated by Nexstar through the conclusion of the critical mid-term election while the parties continue to work privately toward a new agreement.”
A Nexstar spokesman told TV Tech sister brand NextTV not to involve them in the dispute.
"Despite DirecTV’s allegations, Nexstar is not a party to these negotiations and does not control any of these television stations,” Nexstar spokesman Gary Weitman said. ”These stations are owned by Mission Broadcasting, Inc., and White Knight Broadcasting, not Nexstar.”
