Some college football fans who want to see the Big 12 and AAC Championships may be out of luck. DirecTV, one of the nation's largest broadcasters, has denied Texas permission to offer its 64 stations to DirecTV, DirecTV Stream, and U-verse homes. claims.
WFAA and dozens of other stations, many of which broadcast ABC and CBS in markets across the country, were arrested Thursday night in the latest clash between the networks and the companies that deliver television to consumers. , was taken off air for DirecTV customers.
As WFAA goes dark on thousands of TVs in Texas, fans and viewers are locked in a fight over the station's fees. Both sides have accused each other of failing to find common ground.
DirecTV declined to say how many customers it has in Dallas or how much money TEGNA charges per customer because it is privately held. However, a DirecTV spokesperson said the Dallas-Fort Worth area was one of the largest markets affected by the outages in terms of number of customers.
DirecTV's latest battle comes just months after a battle over broadcast fees with Irving-based Nexstar Media Group. DirecTV made his 200 stations in more than 100 metropolitan areas, including Dallas, inaccessible for 77 days from July to mid-September.
Rob Thune, DirecTV's chief content officer, said in a statement that TEGNA's move is part of an effort to raise standards in broadcast media.
“TEGNA is the latest company to use territorial exclusivity and blackouts to perpetuate the status quo for American broadcasters by stealing ever-increasing prices for programming that remains free over the air. “While that is unfortunate, it is certainly not surprising,” he said.
Thun said DirecTV and TEGNA need to come to an agreement soon to avoid further angering customers.
“I can't do this anymore,” he said. “These price increases are not sustainable for the average consumer. This is a deeply broken model that erodes trust, eliminates choice, and further stretches the already overstretched wallets of customers. We continue to dig deep.”
TEGNA declined an interview request from dallas morning news. However, the company released a statement last night.
“Despite months of efforts, DIRECTV has refused to reach a fair and market-based agreement with TEGNA. As a result, DIRECTV and AT&T U-Verse customers have no access to the NFL and College Football Conference Championship. games, as well as some of the most popular national network programming and top-rated local news. We urge you to continue negotiating with us.”
In the letter obtained by news, Thune urged WFAA President and General Manager Brad Ramsey to temporarily agree to televise this weekend's championship game. DirecTV says all it needs is Ramsey's permission.
“By law, only WFAA has the authority to decide whether your station remains in your local DIRECTV and U-verse lineup,” Thune told Ramsey. “We formally request that WFAA and TEGNA return WFAA to Dallas-Fort Worth's DIRECTV satellite, streaming and Uverse customers at least during the Saturday afternoon Big 12 and American Championship games. .”
In return, DirecTV said it would cover all WFAA and TEGNA 24-hour schedules and apply new retransmission agreement fees.
“This way, both WFAA and TEGNA take no financial risk while always fulfilling their commitment to ‘serving the greater good’ of the local Dallas-Fort Worth community,” Thune said. .
Thune, a 30-year industry veteran, said in an interview. news He is worried about the future of television broadcasting.
“We're hitting a price wall and customers are saying, 'I'm tired of paying these insane price increases,'” he said. “Unless the broken retransmission consent system is changed, these blackouts will continue…When there's a renewal every three years, we can set the clock knowing there will be a dispute.”
Thun said the industry could benefit from an a la carte model that allows consumers to choose which TV channels they subscribe to. However, TEGNA has so far rejected any proposals involving that type of transaction, he said.
“They are [TEGNA] I said I wouldn't go for a la carte. We move to the old model of pushing everything into a single package,” he said. “What we're looking at today is a proposal that exceeds the wholesale price of $6. But in what industry is the retail price lower than the wholesale price? That's not the case. A business that does is not destined to succeed.”
Thun said if customers stop watching their favorite teams and set prices, they could attack the broadcasters again if they're not careful.
“The pay-TV industry is in decline, so we're seeing less airplay,” he says. “It's through price that they're trying to recoup last year's profits. If they're going to raise prices to overcome the volume problem caused by price, that's a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
DirecTV representatives said the company is working with local sports bars and restaurants such as Buffalo Wild Wings, Dave & Buster's, Boomerjack's, Miller's Ale House and Walk-On's to offer alternative viewing options. said. Customers can also watch the game through the ESPN app or online.
The Texas Longhorns will face the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Big 12 Championship at 11 a.m. Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. It will be the Longhorns' first Big 12 Championship game in five years. The team last won a conference championship in 2009.
The SMU Mustangs will then take on the Tulane Green Wave for the AAC Championship at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans at 3 p.m. The Mustangs have won by close margins before, but this is the team's first chance to win a conference championship since 1984, when it shared it with the University of Houston. The last time they won an outright conference championship was in 1982.
