Why are you taking local channels away?

🤦 @Juniper is it negotiations time again? 

Yes, yes it is.  Tegna Inc. (the one for OP) and Hearst (for my local NBC affiliate) to name two.

@Seenabug59 , all "cable companies" [to use your term] must pay the affiliate for the right to retransmit their programs on their video system.  Right now, it's AT&T's agreement is about to expire and the companies are negotiating.  If you run to another provider, you will be seeing the same thing with them within the next 3 years (the usual length of such an agreement).

Your station is telling you only their side of the story.  The full story is that the station will not allow AT&T to provide the signal unless they come to an agreement.   AT&T never willingly stops providing a major network affiliate, only when they can't reach an agreement with that affiliate does it go dark.  Most negotiations are resolved before the signal goes dark.  I've only had one go more than a day or two.

I do not understand why tv providers need to pay for something the stations provide free over the air. Seems to me the local stations should be paying the tv providers since they are doing them a favor and delivering their signal to locations their over the air signal doesn’t reach. But no, they keep demanding more money and we pay for it.

Because Congress said so. .  It does seem rather stupid.  I much preferred "must carry."

Why would AT&T take away a channel?

The owners the channel will yank them if AT&T doesn't cowtow to the demands set forth by the owners of the channel.

Here in the Columbus area, we're actually seeing two warnings for our local NBC affiliate- one concerning AT&T / DirecTV, another for Dish customers. As noted, all carriers go through the same thing, over and over, ad nauseum. My advice is, keep your digital antenna handy.

@Seenabug59 

You will not be "forced" to go to a different company. Changing would be your choice, pure and simple.

Keep in mind all TV providers (cable, satellite, etc.) go through negotiations. They don't own the channels. When agreement comes up, some channels use a well known scare tactic where they threaten the channel is about to go away. In reality, if a new agreement is not reached by the deadline then the channel owner 'might' pull their feed (as is their right). Unfortunately local affiliate channels are using this tactic more often within the last 5 years or so.

Since most of us did not go to pay TV for our free over-the-air (OTA) antenna channels, I side with the TV providers on this. I would rather use my normal antenna for the free channels in range. I went to pay TV for all the channels I cannot get free.

So simple situation, TV provider and channel owner have come due for negotiating the next carriage agreement. Switching will not save you as all TV providers go through this.

Dave...not true.

The NBC ticker is for DISH and most likely Sling. Let's not put false fear in the OPW minds.

I have the same question/complaint! AT&T needs to reach an agreement! We’ve already lost 2 local channels this year (In Indianapolis). Now I see we may lose WTHR-13. I will finally break ties if I lose NBC programming. I watch this channel DAILY! And if I need to get an antennae to watch it, I will just ditch all U-VERSE programming and move to antenna and streaming (with internet from a different company as well)!

The problem is that if an agreement is reached immediately, it'll be a ridiculously high price for something you can get for free. AT&T wants a lower price.

Hopefully you don't watch sports. If Fox Sports Indiana is owned by Sinclair, they're not on any streaming provider right now, save the two owned by AT&T.