ABC Network access

shannon02, I agree the manager probably doesn't do the negotiating, but should have input to those that do.  If I knew the contact information for the negotiators, I would let them know of my dissatisfaction.  Here is the letter I received from the station manager, for your information and for what it's worth:

Good morning, Mark,

What I can tell you regarding the DirecTV issue is that it has been over three months with no advancement for a deal with DirecTV.  The Mission Broadcasting team dealing with the negotiations seem to be very frustrated with this particular satellite provider. 

We recently completed individual deals with Comcast/Xfinity, Spectrum and Charter Cable to keep WTVO and Rockford’s MyNet as well as the other Mission stations throughout the country on the air which makes me speculate that Mission Broadcasting is doing fair deals with retransmitting our signals.

Personally, I would think that as long as DirecTV subscribers are paying for WTVO and not receiving it, DirecTV is in no hurry to make a deal with Mission Broadcasting to return us to their service.  It has been very frustrating, but we’re still trying to reach an agreement as soon as we can.  We have even reached out to our local congressmen’s offices so that they can stay informed as to the negotiations with DirecTV.

If you are able to receive WTVO via antenna, our signal is free over the air to individuals.  If you would like help or have questions as to if you are able to receive our signal through an antenna, our chief engineer is an expert at this and can tell you all about antenna service and what types of antennas are best for where you are located.  You may reach out to him at mreal@fox39.com

Thank you for your note.  As soon as we know more, we will share it over the air and through our website www.mystateline.com

You may not find "caving" to be an appropriate term, but it can be used. Ideally both sides compromise equally, but often one side "caves" more to the other sacrificing something of what it wants (even if by a little bit).

What you pay for is getting service by satellite. You do not pay for the guarantee of any channels. Even if the channel is gone forever, you still are getting what you pay for.

You keep bringing up "intelligence" as if the fact they haven't agreed is the sign they don't have it. I find that biased, as it is only an opinion simply because you don't have what you want. No matter how intelligent either side is does not mean they must have reached an agreement already or ever. Intelligence =/= everyone getting what they want. (TV provider or customer).

https://www.directv.com/legal/directv-residential-customer-agreement/

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.

To be clear, I am not against them coming to an agreement or having such negotiations take less time. I just don't want my bill going up for something I can get free from antenna, or more specifically is from another area that I wouldn't get anyway.

I understand the reality I am not promised or entitled to any channel and there is no force of nature that mandates two sides agreeing must be within a set time or that length of negotiations being a direct correlation to their intelligence (which it is not).

I concur the station manger wouldn't expect to be at the negotiation table. As for input for those negotiating, depends on what that manager actually does. If they are managing the station's day to day operations and employees, they may not have anything to do with the business decisions as that would expect to be the owner that covers all those local affiliates. And such negotiations are usually behind closed doors where we customers have no direct influence or contact, as much as many wish they could put their two cents in.

Using a regular antenna to get the free broadcast, or possibly a streaming option if they have one, are your backups until (if ever) a new agreement is reached. Otherwise, if for some reason you absolutely must have that local every day then you may need to seek an alternative provider. Though keep in mind, any of them could go through the same thing in the future.

Thanks for you all for your inputs on this.  My position has not changed and this thread is no longer of value.  I will let you know if there is any new information from Mission or Directv that is valuable with regards to this issue.

I don't know if this is still available but check it out. It is an antenna that integrates into your Genie so the OTA channels come right in to the guide like the regular DirecTV channels. Note it is only for H44, HR44, and HR54. How well it works will depend on your location.

https://www.directv.com/support/satellite/article/KM1258635/

@Good4u

I already alluded to the LCC connector on page 1. 

Not only have I been without two major stations for six months (ABC and Fox), but to add insult to injury, Directv (I'm sure in an effort to thank me for my patience and to apologize for any inconvenience) just raised my rates by $8 a month. Thank you soooo much Directv!!!

And the reason why is what this post is about, the channels want more money then DTV wants to pay so they remove their feed to anger the customers so DTV will pay more then DTV has to raise your bill.

@mfunfsinn 

You may not find the thread of any value to you (since it doesn't return the channel you crave), but others may still discuss as it is a public forum. By posting here, you've invited all to discuss for as long as desired.

I still stand by that two sides not coming to an agreement is not by default showing a lack of intelligence. Both of them have factored in their stance as best for their respective business, which unfortunately does not line up with each other.

If there is new information from Mission and/or DirecTV, then it is expected for them to notify the customer base. Saying you will let us know if there is a change makes it sound like you are the direct line between all customers and those two businesses, which certainly wouldn't be the case.

You may have had 36 years in corporate and private business, but in this situation you are a customer like the rest of us. And that experience should have shown you that sometimes two sides just cannot agree but their intelligence is just fine.