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 Agreement
Tonight 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.
As 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.
DIRECTV 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.”
Nexstar 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.
Following DIRECTV’s actions, subscribers in 113 Nexstar markets including
Nexstar remains hopeful that a resolution can be reached quickly to return to viewers their favorite network programming, live sporting events, in-depth local news, and other local content relevant to their communities, as well as critical emergency updates for which DIRECTV is charging its subscribers.
Consumers and viewers affected by the blackout can phone DIRECTV at 800-531-5000.
About Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST) is a leading diversified media company that produces and distributes engaging local and national news, sports and entertainment content across television, streaming and digital platforms, including more than 300,000 hours of news, sports, and entertainment programming each year. Nexstar owns America’s largest local broadcasting group comprised of top network affiliates, with 200 owned or partner stations in 116 U.S. markets reaching 212 million people. Nexstar’s national television properties include The CW, America’s fifth major broadcast network, NewsNation, America’s fastest-growing national news and entertainment cable network reaching 70 million television homes, popular entertainment multicast networks Antenna TV and Rewind TV, and a
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230702465413/en/
Nexstar Media:
Gary Weitman
EVP & Chief Communications Officer
972/373-8800 (office)
gweitman@nexstar.tv
Investor :
Joseph Jaffoni or Jennifer Neuman
JCIR
212/835-8500 or nxst@jcir.com
Source: Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
