Raycom Stations Warn of Potential DirecTV Blackout

[osu1991]

Raycom Stations Warn of Potential DirecTV Blackout | Multichannel

With the looming expiration of its DirecTV carriage deal, Raycom Media has started alerting viewers that its stations could go dark on the satellite platform at the end of the month.

Warnings – from general managers’ editorials to explanatory videos – apprising viewers of a potential blackout are being posted on stations' websites. Subscribers are being urged to contact DirecTV – or find alternative ways of watching the station, whether that means subscribing to a different pay TV platform or watching over-the-air

 

[mdram]

whe will advertisers take notice of these disputes and demand lower rates for less viewers?

might be the only way to stop them

 

[Riverpilot]

I'm sure Raycom will blast AT&T and say, all we want is a few more cents to cover the expenses to show prime time TV like the NFL! Dancing with the Stars! Your local news! blah blah blah...

I'd love to see AT&T come out and say we'll pay you less this time around than last.

 

[mdram]

directv/att need a viable ota so they can stop being held hostage

 

[pattykay]

I just closed my Directv account, so it looks like I dodged a bullet with this one.

 

[Jimbo]

I'm sure Raycom will blast AT&T and say, all we want is a few more cents to cover the expenses to show prime time TV like the NFL! Dancing with the Stars! Your local news! blah blah blah...

I'd love to see AT&T come out and say we'll pay you less this time around than last.

Has ATT been thru a Major contract with any of the Big boys yet ? since the merger ?

 

[Jimbo]

I just closed my Directv account, so it looks like I dodged a bullet with this one.

Not really, if D*s history holds, its very rare that they actually drop channels for contracts, typically it comes down to the last minutes and then gets an extension and then a resolution.

 

[Jimbo]

Important info here ....

“Unfortunately, there’s a danger DirecTV system is about to drop us and break that critical link to our viewers,” Mark Bunting, vice president and general manager of WSFA Montgomery, Ala., said in an editorial (although technically it's up to broadcasters whether or not to stay live on pay TV platforms before reaching a renewal agreement). “We are currently working hard to make sure DirecTV customers continue to have access to WSFA without interruption. There is a chance they will not agree to a fair deal, and decide to drop this station from their system.”

In MOST cases, its the PROVIDER that pulls the channel off D*.

 

[Riverpilot]

Has ATT been thru a Major contract with any of the Big boys yet ? since the merger ?

They've had a few contract renewals, but I'm not sure if it was any of the big ones.
I know at least one where the channels went dark for awhile.

I suspect they'll come to an agreement sooner than later and once again the end consumer will be the one who gets screwed.
The discontinued OTA is one of the reasons I'm switching to DISH next week, that and the Hopper 3, 16 tuners.

 

[Jimbo]

They've had a few contract renewals, but I'm not sure if it was any of the big ones.
I know at least one where the channels went dark for awhile.

I suspect they'll come to an agreement sooner than later and once again the end consumer will be the one who gets screwed.
The discontinued OTA is one of the reasons I'm switching to DISH next week, that and the Hopper 3, 16 tuners.

The cannot take your OTA ability away ... it you have an antenna and a TV.
The AM21's cannot be "Shut Off", as D* doesn't own them, the owner does.
They may not support them, but they really never have.

 

[osu1991]

The cannot take your OTA ability away ... it you have an antenna and a TV.
.

Of course everyone sits down to watch the local news or primetime tv live with all the commercials. Nobody uses a dvr anymore

 

[Jimbo]

Of course everyone sits down to watch the local news or primetime tv live with all the commercials. Nobody uses a dvr anymore

I was pointing out that the programming was still available ....
You could go (many people have) the TIVO route and be able to have your OTA and DVR.

 

[TheRatPatrol]

And this is why DIRECTV needs to come out with a new OTA tuner adapter.

 

[goaliebob99]

I know a USB OTA dongle is being worked on. No idea when we will actually see it rolled out to the end user. It really does need to happen sooner than later. I'm told the new one will be compatible with the HS17 (Genie 2), but this is all hearsay for now. If we do see it (speculating), it probably won’t happen until next year some time, and would be lucky to see anything by fall.

 

[mdram]

The cannot take your OTA ability away ... it you have an antenna and a TV.
The AM21's cannot be "Shut Off", as D* doesn't own them, the owner does.
They may not support them, but they really never have.

unless you get an hs17,a s the am21 wont work with that

 

[mdram]

They've had a few contract renewals, but I'm not sure if it was any of the big ones.
I know at least one where the channels went dark for awhile.

I suspect they'll come to an agreement sooner than later and once again the end consumer will be the one who gets screwed.
The discontinued OTA is one of the reasons I'm switching to DISH next week, that and the Hopper 3, 16 tuners.

and we all know dish never has any dishputes......................................

 

[hancox]

I know a USB OTA dongle is being worked on. No idea when we will actually see it rolled out to the end user. It really does need to happen sooner than later. I'm told the new one will be compatible with the HS17 (Genie 2), but this is all hearsay for now. If we do see it (speculating), it probably won’t happen until next year some time, and would be lucky to see anything by fall.

*very* interesting, if true!

 

[gadgtfreek]

Raycom? Never heard of her.

 

[Riverpilot]

and we all know dish never has any dishputes......................................

Please show me where I stated that DISH never did? I'll save you the trouble, I never have. Please re-read what I stated.
AT&T will blame one side, the other side will blame AT&T. In the end the consumer will be the one screwed. Same thing with DISH, same thing with every other provider.

I also have a Tivo OTA for when I need it, but I like the OTA being available without switching inputs etc.. if I can.
I don't have any interest in the HS17 as it is right now. A year or 2 down the road? :shrugs:

Back to the point of the thread. I doubt if the channels are blacked out, if at all, with football, and the arrival of fall programming arriving......

 

[slice1900]

I know a USB OTA dongle is being worked on. No idea when we will actually see it rolled out to the end user. It really does need to happen sooner than later. I'm told the new one will be compatible with the HS17 (Genie 2), but this is all hearsay for now. If we do see it (speculating), it probably won’t happen until next year some time, and would be lucky to see anything by fall.

Curious where you got this info...was it from an installer or CSR? People get told all kinds of wild things by them that we know aren't true and never come true. If it was from someone in Directv in an executive or engineering role, then that's great news! I've wondered why they don't support OTA better since it would be so useful during disputes - and Directv's CEO even mentioned that during one of their earnings calls a few years back. Yeah I know not everyone can take advantage of OTA, but even if only half of Directv's customers in a given DMA had an OTA option that would tilt the playing field for negotiations.

I would assume a new OTA device will support ATSC 3.0 for future proofing, which is probably why the HS17 would came out without the option - the chips just aren't quite ready yet. I hope they would also something about their guide data format too. That has nothing to do with the AM21's hardware so a new OTA module won't fix that. They need to alter the guide data stream and software to address that.