Direct TV and their continuing "dropped channel negotiations"

Getting pretty fed up with being used as leverage to force negotiations between DTV and channel owners.  This is the second time in a month we have lost a major network provider.  These negotiations should take place long before a service we PAY FOR is cut.  Am seriously considering cutting the satellite cord and going with Hulu or T Mobile.  This is ridiculous being used as pawns and paying for a service we don’t receive and being given a totally lame “alternative” to watch the cut channel that is a kludgy as old dial up.  I am mad.

My neighbors all have COMCAST. They have never had this problem.

We understand your disappointment, as we feel the same. We hoped to avoid any unnecessary interruption, but Cox Media Group alone controls which homes are allowed to receive these local channels. We appreciate your patience.

So my bill goes up $5.00 a month and they drop my local CBS station! It seems like every year or two it happens - does this happen to Dish?

Yes this happens with ALL TV providers (Dish, Comcast, CableOne, etc.). None are immune as they don't own the channels. The networks, in particular local affiliates raise their costs each year. The annual price adjustment is based on prior negotiations that already completed. So this one would factor into the next one.

So your neighbors have had this problem before. Probably wasn't with a channel they cared about at the time.

Welcome to reality folks.

If TMO or Hulu offered PBS I would be so gone.  Why the big money has to use us, the consumers, to get one or the other to give-in is inexcusable.  Negotiations should never be allowed to get to the point of cutting us off to be used this way.  Last time we lost NBC for a month with zero compensation or reduction in my bill.  Very poor.

Hey ATT moderator, please elevate these complaints to management because you might start losing revenue.

What makes you think corporate isn’t aware? They are the ones negotiating

They should never let it go this far.  

As a former ATT “Manager” who controlled millions in daily revenue, and knowing that corporate is literally sitting on billions in cash reserves, I find this appalling.  

I don't care who is "responsible" for the channels not being renewed or carried. All I know is I pay for programming I am not receiving, not to mention this happens 6 days before the Super Bowl which is being carried by my local blocked station. This is the second time recently one of my locals has been blocked. Last time it was the NBC affiliate. I'm done with relying on ATT/Directv for local station access and will look elsewhere for a long term solution.  Figure it out ATT.

You pay for access to locals in general. There is no promise, no guarantee of any specific channel. There is no reduction in bill because it is the same no matter how many locals you have. Only if you have no locals at all do they reduce the bill (by a no-locals version of the package only for select areas that have no available locals).

Many call centers closed temporarily for Covid, increased relying on outsourcing while those employees are on extended leave, and all the other financial burdens that have cropped up in the meantime, does not mean they are "sitting on billions in in cash reserves". And when locals demand an increase that equates to millions/billions more a year, where do you think that comes from? That's right our bills as the customer. Their costs go up then our bills go up. Negotiations try to minimize that. I would think anyone who claims to have every been a "manager" of any worth would know that.

You want a solution? Plug in a regular antenna for the free broadcast. Backup for negotiation times, plus may get other channels in range that you wouldn't get anyway. After all most of us don't go to pay TV for our locals that are free over the regular airways.

You can plug in for over the air TV only in places that get reception of over the air TV. You need to be close enough to broadcast towers or repeaters, without buildings and mountains being in the way, in order to get free TV for free. Do you think those of us that are complaining and frustrated are close enough to broadcast antennas to get the signals?

There are places in these United States that don't get TV signals without satellite, and have no access to cable TV or internet providers (other than by AT&T 4G access). I live in just such a place in rural New Hampshire. That's why it's that much more irritating when they tell us how easy it is to get your TV broadcasts in other ways!

I have seen people complain who have regular antenna as an option. They just don't want to press a button to switch inputs. So I suggest an alternative that might help, instead of just assuming nobody can use it.

If you are in a bad area for antenna TV, yes that is frustrating. But it doesn't change the situation. The channel stays/leaves/goes only with the direction of the channel owner. We can only hope this is a shorter negotiation than others.

The options are continue to negotiate a good deal for DirecTV and the customer with minimizing costs increase (avoiding or even lowering if possible) or just say yes to the channel owner and accept an even larger cost increase for our bills. Those are the options. Which would you like to happen?

When are we going to have channel 9 back . When we signed the worst contract in the world. You  need to honor it.