54 Scripps stations went dark from DirecTV Sunday night. Viewers in 36 markets woke up Monday without their local Scripps stations on air.
What We Know: Beginning at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday evening, DirecTV pulled all 54 Scripps Local Media stations across 36 Nielsen-designated markets. Affected cities include Baltimore, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Miami, Nashville, Phoenix, Tampa, and West Palm Beach, among others. Moreover, this isn’t Scripps’ first carriage battle of the year. The broadcaster also lost carriage on Comcast Xfinity starting April 1, darkening 40 stations across 19 markets for more than a month before resolution. Furthermore, DirecTV flagged that the blackout threatens viewer access to June primary elections, the NBA and NHL Finals on ABC, and the U.S. Open on NBC.
What They Said: Rob Thun, chief content officer at DirecTV: “We understand customers are frustrated by temporarily losing their usual access to Scripps stations and the local news, network programming, and live sports they provide. Unfortunately, Scripps is demanding the highest rates we have ever seen for programming that remains available for free over-the-air and through many station, network, and third-party streaming apps. We remain committed to protecting customers from indiscriminate and unnecessary cost increases for less popular programming. While still working to restore the stations that many viewers rely on.”
Scripps Statement: “Scripps remains committed to reaching a fair resolution that restores our local stations to DirecTV’s paying subscribers. At stake is our viewers’ fundamental access to trusted local journalism, critical weather alerts, emergency information and live sports programming that strengthens community bonds – all essential public interest content in which Scripps invests substantially every day.”
What Remains Unclear: No timeline for resolution has emerged yet. Additionally, it’s worth noting Scripps claims this marks only the second time in its history — dating back to 1947 — that its stations have gone dark with a pay-TV distributor, with the first being the Comcast dispute in April. However, what specific rate gap separates both parties remains undisclosed.
What It Means: Consequently, this standoff signals a hardening posture from broadcasters demanding higher retransmission fees from shrinking pay-TV providers. Consequently, DirecTV subscribers bear the cost of a negotiation neither side appears close to finishing. For the broadcast industry, the pattern is troubling. Two major Scripps blackouts in under two months suggests carriage disputes are accelerating, not fading.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
