DirecTV owes refunds for the days that channels haven’t been provided.

AT&T (DirecTV and U-Verse TV) did not block anything. They are in negotiations with Tegna, the owner of your local affiliate channel. As is their right, Tegna pulled the feed away until a new deal is reached. TV provider would gain nothing by withholding the channel from you, but Tegna gets to use us customers as leverage. But remember TV provider caving to Tegna's demands means our bills go up that much more. That is why channel owners (Tegna or otherwise) use us customers as leverage.

No refund is owed. Since TV providers do not own the channels they have no way to guarantee any channel will always be there. That is why they each have a clause that states that channels and programming may change at any time.

So though no refund is required, they have been providing a one-time courtesy credit to many customers. If you log into your account (go to the manage account section, not the watching section), you may see an offer of a one-time $20 credit for your patience.

Yes they are holding up their end, they are still providing the service you are paying for, read the TOS that states channels and programs are subject to change at anytime.

@Huffer 

They did hold up their end of the contract. Because it states that channels and programming may change at any time. They don't own the channels so is impossible to guarantee you will always get them. All TV providers have a similar clause.

Stop and think. Agreements with TV provider and channel owner are not going to be the same date as millions of their customers all with different agreement dates. So what you expect is impossible.

You have written to retail stores upset that you are missing a little channel that you could get free with a regular antenna or watch something else? Ok...

No it’s not OK. I do not ask the impossible, just the improbable. We are held hostage to this acts. DirecTV expects me to pay my Bill in time and for the stations that I agreed to pay for. One of those stations is the ABC affiliate in the Sacramento Ca area. I bet if I protested by not paying for that channel they would have a field day with me for not netting my end of the bargain. 
this says your an expert, great, congratulations, I respectfully ask you to stop being an apologist

for DirecTV. 
I appreciate you attempting to explain to me but I would feel much better if I was having this discussion with DirecTV and/or AT&T

It is impossible as there is no way for them to guarantee a channel they do not will always be there. That is an impossible guarantee.

Channels come and go. Sometimes temporarily when they try to get better deals. So we pay for a variety, not guaranteed specific content or channels. So you have no valid reason to not pay your bill as you are getting exactly what you are paying for, even if you feel you should get more.

Not being an "apologist". Just stating the reality of the situation as much as you don't like it. But would you prefer TV providers cave to the channels so your bill goes up that much more and quicker? So many whine when they don't get something immediately but then whine again when it turns out they have to pay for that happening. Not saying either side is more in the right than the other, only that it is worse for our bills if Tegna gets what they want.

If you want a discussion with DirecTV/AT&T then call them and get the same answers. This is a public forum of other customers. My responses are honest and attempt to give perspective, even if you don't like how it works.

@Huffer 

"it will be a forum for consumers to exchange their views on medical research"

Huh? This is not a medical research forum so don't know what you are going on about there.

My comment on "whining" was more in general about the posts here. It was to make point that you can't have it both ways so there is no win-win situation. Either they cave and costs go up that much more, or they continue negotiating and minimize (ideally avoid or even lower) any rate hikes by the channel owner.

You say you want discussion with AT&T/DirecTV. That is not done here being a public forum of other customers. But agents over the phone can only tell you the current status. In the end they will come to an agreement with Tegna eventually. Nobody we can talk to has any control over those negotiations.

Negotiations happen all the time. Usually behind close door where we don't hear about it. But as mentioned local affiliates (Tegna, Nexstar, Sinclair, even CBS itself as they own some directly, etc.) are pulling their channels more often in recent years. Why should we customers keep being used as leverage against the TV providers to raise costs for channels we get free over the regular airways?

Up to you if you leave and go elsewhere. But remember it does not protect you. No TV provider can guarantee what the content will always be as that is impossible. Only if they own/produce the content themselves would there be a chance otherwise, but still no guarantee forever.

Terms of Service - Legal Policy Center - AT&T

(d) Our Programming Changes.

Many factors affect the availability, cost and quality of programming and may influence the decision to raise prices and the amount of any increase. These include, among others, programming and other costs, consumer demand, market and shareholder expectations, and changing business conditions. Accordingly, we reserve the unrestricted right to change, rearrange, add or delete our programming packages, the selections in those packages, our prices, technologies used to deliver the Service, and any other Service we offer, at any time.