Some DIRECTV customers have lost access to select channels as a result of a carriage dispute between DIRECTV and Coastal Television.
Big Horn Television’s WMDN-CBS went dark on May 8 and Vision Alaska’s KYUR-ABC/CW went dark on June 6. Other Coastal TV owned-and-operated stations’ contracts expired on July 17 and remain unavailable.
Coastal TV shared the news with local customers, saying “In order for us to broadcast quality local programming and network sports and entertainment programs, we must be treated and paid fairly by DirecTV. If you are a DirecTV subscriber, DirecTV charges you to carry our local programming, and we are only asking for a portion of that payment to allow us to continue to deliver the programming you count on.”
In a statement to Cord Cutters News, DIRECTV said: “Coastal Television has temporarily blocked our customers’ usual access to its local stations to try to guarantee itself much higher fees without any proof of performance for the next few years. Coastal has used similar blackouts to cost other providers’ customers before, and we want to more closely align the price our customers must pay with the value they can expect to receive. We appreciate their loyalty and patience while we convince Coastal to reconnect them as soon as possible.”
Carriage agreements are common and typically an agreement is reached and channels are restored quickly. If you’re a DIRECTV customer, you can visit the TV Promise website to get more information about the disruption and a possible credit on your account for the inconvenience.