Thousands of Mainers have not been able to watch the state’s NBC stations for nearly a month because of stalled contract negotiations between the station’s owner and DirecTV.
Contract renewal talks between Tegna, which owns the News Center Maine stations in Portland and Bangor, and satellite provider DirecTV broke down on Nov. 30, when the last contract expired. Tegna owns 64 stations around the country but only two in Maine – WCSH in Portland and WLBZ in Bangor – while DirecTV has about 50,000 customers in the state.
As a result of the stalled talks, the two Maine NBC stations are not being shown to DirecTV customers and likely will not until a new agreement is reached.
TV providers and stations or networks regularly renew their compensation agreements, and disputes that result in viewer blackouts are becoming more and more common, as traditional TV providers like cable and satellite companies face competition from streaming services.
In the Tegna-DirecTV dispute, each side blames the other.
In a statement emailed to the Press Herald, Tegna said that despite months of effort, DirecTV “has refused to reach a fair, market-based agreement” and as a result, DirectTV customers have lost access to NFL and college football games, as well as local news and network shows.
“Our focus is on reaching a deal based on the mutually beneficial, market-based terms we have successfully negotiated with numerous distribution partners of all sizes,” the statement read. “Still, we remain available and ready to work around the clock to reach a deal when DIRECTV is ready to bargain seriously.”
In its statement sent to the Press Herald, DirecTV said the “double-digit” annual rate increases Tegna is seeking would force DirecTV to charge people more to watch Tegna stations, including in Maine. The statement also said Tegna is denying it permission right now to provide Tegna stations to its customers.
“It’s disappointing, but certainly not surprising, that TEGNA is just the latest to perpetuate what’s become the status quo for American broadcasters by using its territorial exclusivities and blackouts to extort ever-increasing rates for programming that remains free over-the-air,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer of DirecTV. “We just can’t do this anymore – these price increases are unsustainable for the average consumer.”
The two News Center Maine stations are available for free, over-the-air with an antenna. So are the state’s other major network affiliate stations. These include ABC, CBS, CW, and FOX stations, as well as Maine Public.
On the News Center Maine website, there’s a banner alerting people to the dispute, with a link to more information, including how to switch to another provider or TV streaming service that does carry the stations.
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