CBS is still unavailable to AT&T, DIRECTV customers in Raleigh area. Here’s why.
Local CBS affiliate WNCN, also known as CBS 17, has been unavailable for AT&T U-verse and DIRECTV customers nearly all month and there is no end in sight for the blackout.
The outage began when the satellite television provider failed to reach a deal with Nexstar, which owns the station, after their contract expired in early July.
The contract dispute is over retransmission or carriage fees. Carriers like AT&T, Charter (which owns Spectrum) and DISH pay cable networks and TV station owners a monthly license fee to carry their signals.
The outage impacts about 10 million customers and more than 150 local TV stations, forcing them “to go dark on one of the country’s largest pay-TV providers,” Deadline reported. Nexstar stations affected nationwide include ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and CW affiliates.
On its website, CBS 17 is telling customers to demand a rebate or switch providers, and is urging DIRECTV to “end this nonsense.”
“We have presented a proposal for fair value compensation, based on the importance and value our programming brings to our viewers. Despite our tireless efforts, DIRECTV/UVERSE has refused our fair offer and doesn’t seem to care if you must go without,” CBS 17 wrote on their website.
Nexstar claims to have been “negotiating tirelessly and in good faith” since May, according to a press release. The media company also claims to have offered to extend their current contract out until Oct. 31, but DIRECTV declined.
“Unfortunately, I can’t comment on the state of negotiations other than to say we remain at an impasse with DIRECTV,” Gary Weitman, chief communications officer of Nexstar, told The N&O.
“Since 2019, DIRECTV has removed more than 170 channels or networks, resulting in the loss of more than a year’s worth of programming hours. The contract that recently expired was four years old.”
In an email to The N&O, a DIRECTV spokesperson called Nexstar’s demands “egregious,” saying the requested rates are higher than DIRECTV has ever received from a programmer in an initial proposal.
“Nexstar rejected our offer for an extension and made a disingenuous offer to force the expiration of programming at the heart of the NFL and college football seasons ... in an effort to extract as much cash from our customers as possible. We obviously can’t let that happen,” spokesperson Jeremy Pelofsky told The N&O.
WNCN did not immediately return a request for comment.
AT&T/DIRECTV had a similar contract dispute with Nexstar in July 2019 that lasted nearly three months.
The cable company also dropped WRAL and Fox 50, both owned by Capitol Broadcasting, during a dispute in 2017, The N&O reported at the time. That dispute also lasted for almost three months before service was restored.
How to watch CBS without cable?
Viewers can still get CBS programming with an over-the-air antenna, sold at big box stores such as Best Buy, Walmart and Target, and also from Amazon.
This story was originally published July 19, 2023 at 2:33 PM.
