The retransmission battle between Scripps and DirecTV has escalated, with 54 local Scripps stations in 36 Nielsen-designated markets going dark as of 7 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Both sides blamed the other for the blackout, which DirecTV noted comes just before several state and local primary elections in June, as well as the upcoming NBA and NHL finals on ABC, and the U.S. Open golf tournament on NBC.
DirecTV said Scripps “is is demanding the highest rates DIRECTV has ever received from a station group, which would continue to dramatically raise costs for consumers and businesses already struggling with affordability. After DirecTV declined those demands and sought a more reasonable agreement, Scripps chose to remove its stations from viewers in several major markets nationwide.”
Scripps, however, said it “has been engaging in good-faith negotiations with DirecTV to establish an equitable agreement that serves both companies and, most importantly, consumers. Regrettably, DirecTV has elected to remove Scripps local stations from their lineup, employing the same heavy-handed tactics that have become synonymous with pay-TV operators who hurt their own subscribers by using them as bargaining chips in contractual disputes. By contrast, Scripps stations have gone dark only twice since we began broadcasting in the 1940s.”
DirecTV, however, noted that Scripps had just removed 40 stations from Comcast Xfinity in 19 markets for more than a month, starting April 1.
“We understand customers are frustrated by temporarily losing their usual access to Scripps stations and the local news, network programming, and live sports they provide,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer at DirecTV. “Unfortunately, Scripps is demanding the highest rates we have ever seen for programming that remains available for free over-the-air and through many station, network, and third-party streaming apps. We remain committed to protecting customers from indiscriminate and unnecessary cost increases for less popular programming while still working to restore the stations that many viewers rely on.”
But said Scripps in their statement: “Scripps remains committed to reaching a fair resolution that restores our local stations to DirecTV’s paying subscribers. At stake is our viewers’ fundamental access to trusted local journalism, critical weather alerts, emergency information and live sports programming that strengthens community bonds – all essential public interest content in which Scripps invests substantially every day.”
Markets impacted by the retrans blackout include Baltimore, Boise, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Lexington, Miami, Milwaukee, Nashville, Omaha, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Tampa-St. Petersburg, and West Palm Beach, among others.
In the meantime, DirecTV suggested sports fans access programming via the ESPN app, while Scripps suggested free over-the-air with an antenna, or else Tablo TV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo or “other streaming and cable services.”