Local channels

Why does the consumer always get put in the middle of these disputes??

We too have lost some of our local channels due to Nexstar negotiations.  Luckily the channels I lost I can access through other streaming services.  Unfortunately, I wish I could have an OTA antenna but I live too far away to receive a signal from either of the 2 closest cities with local stations.  The only positive thing I have seen is that I can still have access to the recordings that I recorded before the channel blackout which must be something new as that has never happened before.

As of tonight I don't have my local abc and fox station I guess it's time to leave DirecTV stream.

As far as I know, there are neither Nexstar nor Tegna owned stations in south Florida.  But there are a number of Scripps owned stations, including the CW affiliate, which we’ve never gotten. 

IANAL so I can’t say for sure, but I’d think a clause in a carriage agreement that forbid an external antenna wouldn’t be valid.

For Stream (especially if you wanted DVR functionality) you’d either need something like a Tablo or HDHomeRun with DTV integrating

a client into their app (most likely only for the Gemini) or create their own, similar to Sling’s AirTV2, but preferably with storage built in - again requiring a client in the STBs. That has a lot of advantages for the user (no need for yet another subscription, almost certainly simpler integration) but might stretch DTV’s abilities and would almost certainly push out other (more critical) needs, so I wouldn’t hold my breath unless they contracted out the whole thing. However, if they went with that approach, they could probably use it for both satellite and Stream. 

@Tiger593 - are the recordings you can still play for network shows?  If so, my guess is that your rights to them may come from the network (for which there is still an agreement) and not the affiliate. 

@Bob60 

As of tonight I don't have my local abc and fox station I guess it's time to leave DirecTV stream.

Then prepare to leave your other provider when it is their turn. No provider is immune from this. Local channels are more often taking this action, and Nexstar has proven to be one of the worst offenders.

Sure it is convenient to get your locals through your provider. But think about it, normally you go to pay TV for channels that don't have a free over-the-air (OTA) broadcast. Unless you live in an area where local transmission is difficult to receive, I feel locals should not be the deal breaker channels.

And in most cases, the owner pulling the channel is temporary. Could be hours or days, so leaving as soon as Nexstar uses you for leverage plays right into their hands. The higher rates they get affects all customers as unlike Regional Sport Networks (RSNs), they spread out the cost in the package over all customers whether they get those exact channels or not. Perhaps give it 'some' time before making the final decision (only you can decide how long is appropriate for you). But this is not the last time a channel owner uses customers as leverage, and certainly not for Nexstar (regardless of provider) from their track record.

So find something else to watch out of the pay national channels instead of the (otherwise free OTA) locals in the meantime.

Check out The Antenna Man's excellent YouTube video describing the mess around the "retransmission fees" that major network owners continue to extort cable/satellite providers to deliver us their FREE off-air station. It's all about the money. That's why DirecTV is finally suing Nexstar. It's about time the FCC and Congress fix this mess. 

@Tbehr2008 

Why does the consumer always get put in the middle of these disputes??

Because you don't own the channel so have no rights to it.

Agreement came up, Nexstar doesn't think they are being paid enough so they pull the channels they own. They are not going to give the channels to the TV providers (and by association us customers) for free.

For more info: https://www.directv.com/tvpromise/

And yes this applies to both DirecTV and DIRECTV STREAM

https://thedesk.net/2023/07/nexstar-sinclair-cw-directv-stream-blackout-fcc/

Now this is just getting ridiculous.  Now Nexstar is ordering that CW programming on stations THEY DO NOT EVEN OWN be taken off of DirecTV stream.  Is that even legal?  DirecTV has the contract with the LOCAL STATION NOT THE NETWORK (as multiple people on this very thread have been eager to point out to me).  So now, we're going to drag another approx. 25 Sinclair stations into this mess (like the White Knight, Mission and Nexstar stations weren't enough).

CW licenses their content (through an affiliation agreement) to the local station and, in turn, the local station licenses/sells their signal to the provider who then sells it to the consumer. Nexstar does not license CW content directly to the consumer or the provider (unless it's one of the CW stations that Nexstar owns, like WPIX in New York or certain on demand programming).  Nexstar has no right to invalidate the contract between Sinclair and DirecTV.  Sinclair bought and paid for that CW content to be retransmitted and it is their right to do with it as they see fit once it's purchased. This is akin to Wal Mart and Coca Cola getting into a dispute and Wal Mart discontinues selling Coke products and then Coca Cola orders the police to seize the Coke I bought at Wal Mart 2 weeks ago from my house. 

Nextsar is the problem here as I see it, not DirecTV.  Their business practices have been ruled illegal (e.g. just look at the New York court ruling from earlier today) and need some serious investigation from either the FCC or better yet, Congress or the SEC.