Cord Cutters News

DirecTV and AT&T TV Could Lose Cox-Owned Locals Next Week

Jess Barnes
AT&T Trucks

DirecTV and AT&T TV are at risk of losing over 20 Cox-owned stations on February 2 if AT&T and Cox can’t come to an agreement for a retransmission deal within the next few days. The existing agreement expires after 11:59 pm PST on February 1.

A message for DirecTV customers on the AT&T website says:

Cox-owned stations have a long history of either threatening or pulling the Super Bowl and other important events from Buckland Telephone Co., CableOne, Charter Spectrum, DISH Network, Frontier Communications, Suddenlink, Verizon Fios and our own customers. Broadcasters like Cox gin up these contrived blackouts at the precise time it hurts their viewers most, extract higher fees, and then use their own news outlets to try to mislead people and skirt any accountability. We continue to work with Cox to try to avoid any unnecessary disruption and appreciate our customers’ patience while we do.

As always, both companies are placing the blame on each other. AT&T says “Cox alone has exclusive control over which homes are allowed to receive” the programming. The networks are sending their own messages out to viewers, including KIRO-TV in Seattle, saying that “the ball remains in AT&T/DIRECTV’s court to step-up like all of their competitors and peers have done.”

The stations that would be impacted if the two can’t come to an agreement include:

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