Unfortunately, ahead of Saturday’s Army-Navy game, TEGNA decided to deny DIRECTV’s request to return their stations to more than 500 military bases and government sites. DIRECTV privately sought TEGNA’s permission to restore its signals exclusively to these locations, which would’ve allowed DIRECTV to once again deliver the news, entertainment and sports, including Saturday’s game.
Unfortunately, TEGNA, a U.S. government-licensed broadcaster whose own mission statement is to “serve the greater good of our communities,” intentionally deprived our U.S. servicemen and women and other government workers by weaponizing this blackout to extract rate increases.
Discover how DIRECTV is supporting our Veterans, read about the S.A.V.E. Project.
Behind the TEGNA Dispute
TEGNA, one of the nation’s largest local broadcast station groups has yet again denied DIRECTV permission to offer its 66 stations in 52 metro regions to DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM and U-verse customers. This comes after months of negotiations and TEGNA rejecting an offer from DIRECTV to extend through the rest of the college and NFL football seasons to not disrupt viewers while the two sides finalize a renewal.
TEGNA is demanding double-digit annual rate increases that would make it the most expensive broadcaster nationwide.. Were DIRECTV to agree, it would obligate customers to pay a premium for TEGNA stations that exceeds hundreds of other DIRECTV agreements covering local stations in nearly 200 metro regions throughout the U.S.
Find out more about this dispute and how to get access to your sports, shows and more at TVPromise.com.
