Anybody else with DirectTV just lose Fox?

[Argo]

It just went off the air for me, right in the middle of Simpsons re-run

 

[nsafreak]

If you're in a market where Tribune owns the Fox station that would explain it. DirecTV & Tribune haven't been able to work out a deal yet for carriage of their stations so Tribune pulled the stations from DirecTV. So if you want to watch Fox (or whatever other station Tribune owns that you used to watch on DirecTV) it's time to put up an OTA antenna.

 

[Sixguns]

Mine is still up.

 

[Zeze]

That's such a retarded BS hurting the customer who doesn't give a shit about the politics.

This happens frequently for lesser channels, but Fox? I'd be pissed if I were you.

 

[nsafreak]

Not sure where the op is but for anybody else wondering, here's a list of Trinbune owned TV stations (from Wikipedia).


Tribune-owned stations

[edit] Television stations

Stations are listed alphabetically by state and city of license.
Note: Two boldface asterisks appearing after a station's call letters (**) indicates a station that was built and signed-on by Tribune.
City of license/Market Station Channel
TV (DT) Owned Since Primary affiliation Los Angeles KTLA 5 (31) 1985 CW Sacramento - Stockton - Modesto KTXL 40 (40) 1997 Fox San Diego KSWB-TV 69 (19) 1996 Fox Denver KWGN-TV 2 (34) 1966 The CW Hartford - New Haven, CT WTIC-TV 61 (31) 1997 Fox Waterbury, Connecticut WCCT-TV 20 (20) 2001 The CW Washington, D.C. WDCW 50 (50) 1999 The CW Miami - Fort Lauderdale WSFL-TV 39 (19) 1997 The CW Chicago WGN-TV ** 9 (19) 1948 The CW Bloomington, Indiana WTTV 4 (48) 2002 The CW Indianapolis WXIN 59 (45) 1997 Fox Kokomo, Indiana WTTK
(satellite of WTTV) 29 (29) 2002 The CW New Orleans WGNO 26 (26) 1983 ABC WNOL-TV 38 (15) 1999 The CW Grand Rapids - Battle Creek -
Kalamazoo, MI WXMI 17 (19) 1998 Fox St. Louis KPLR-TV 11 (26) 2003 The CW New York City WPIX ** 11 (11) 1948 The CW Salem - Portland, OR KRCW-TV 32 (33) 2003 The CW Philadelphia WPHL-TV 17 (17) 1992 MyNetworkTV York - Harrisburg -
Lancaster - Lebanon, PA WPMT 43 (47) 1997 Fox Dallas - Fort Worth KDAF 33 (32) 1997 The CW Houston KIAH 39 (38) 1995 The CW Tacoma - Seattle KCPQ 13 (13) 1999 Fox KZJO 22 (25) 1998 MyNetworkTV [edit] Radio station

 

[dud]

That's such a retarded BS hurting the customer who doesn't give a shit about the politics.

This happens frequently for lesser channels, but Fox? I'd be pissed if I were you.

What ar you still doing here?


OP, I wish I could "lose" FOX ... you are so lucky.

 

[Argo]

1995 The CW Tacoma - Seattle KCPQ 13 (13)

That's me...

 

[SKORPI0]

Tribune Co. stations go dark Sunday for millions of DirecTV subscribers

DirecTV subscribers in 19 U.S. markets saw all Tribune Co. television stations go dark Sunday as a contract expired, and a very public battle over retransmission fees hit home.

The blackout began at midnight Saturday after Tribune Broadcasting said it failed to reach a settlement with the satellite television provider in their contract negotiations.

Stations affected include local CW and Fox affiliates, cutting off shows such as "American Idol," "Glee," "New Girl" and "Gossip Girl." With MLB's opening day coming this week, DirecTV subscribers are also losing access to the Chicago Cubs and White Sox via WGN America, the Mets on WPIX-TV in New York, and the Phillies on WPHL-TV in Philadelphia.

 

[DCal430]

We really need laws to protect consumers from this type of thing. Laws that require binding arb itration or something before they can cut the channel.

 

[RaistlinZ]

Simpsons was actually funny tonight.

 

[Lifted]

Aren't cable companies required by law to carry the main broadcast stations? Does it only cover the big 3?

Derp... DTV ain't cable.

 

[zzuupp]

Aren't cable companies required by law to carry the main broadcast stations? Does it only cover the big 3?

Derp... DTV ain't cable.

... If it was cable, the station can elect 'must carry' ,or 'retransmission consent'. The consent usually involves $$$.

 

[DCal430]

... If it was cable, the station can elect 'must carry' ,or 'retransmission consent'. The consent usually involves $$$.

Satellite service like DirectTV is the same way. The vast majority elect retransmission consent.

 

[Lifted]

Satellite service like DirectTV is the same way. The vast majority elect retransmission consent.

... If it was cable, the station can elect 'must carry' ,or 'retransmission consent'. The consent usually involves $$$.

I have no idea what that's all about, but I trust youzz.

 

[Argo]

We really need laws to protect consumers from this type of thing. Laws that require binding arb itration or something before they can cut the channel.

I'm fine with free market working its magic. If direct tv doesn't get fox I'm going to drop them in favor of some other provider.

 

[BoomerD]

There's so little on Fox (and NOTHING on CW) that I watch that if that was ALL this affected, I wouldn't care in the slightest...now if it also affected FX (also a Fox brand)...that would piss me off...

BUT, my "local" Fox station isn't affected, so...

edit...looks like my "local" Fox station IS affected...and I didn't even know it. <shrug>

 

[herm0016]

my dad was angry.. he missed the nascar race because of this crap. they are going to cancel and get back with dish network.

 

[BoomerD]

my dad was angry.. he missed the nascar race because of this crap. they are going to cancel and get back with dish network.

Why blame DirecTV? Dish went through much the same problem a couple of years ago and lost some of their programming/channels...it happens to them all once in a while. If enough customers raise hell, they USUALLY get the problem resolved.

What I don't get is why only the Tribune-owned Fox stations are affected. DirecTV worked out a deal with Fox this week..but apparently, it wasn't enough to suit the Tribune owners.

Looks like I was wrong earlier...this DOES affect my local Fox affiliate station...

Anyway, from what DirecTV says, they agreed to Tribune's demands...but no deal was reached anyway:

http://directvpromise.com/tribune-broadcasting-negotiation/

DIRECTV Customers: The following information is provided to keep you updated on your local Tribune stations and WGN America. There is no need for you to do anything at this time as these matters are typically resolved in a short amount of time.
DIRECTV’s Statement on Tribune Broadcasting’s Reneging on Stations’ Return:

Tribune has informed us that we must take their local stations and WGN America down at Midnight PST Saturday, 3/31/12. It’s the last thing we at DIRECTV want to do but we have no choice. As of Thursday, March 29th, we had a handshake deal for their channels and they reneged on their offer. Their actions are the true definition of “bad faith”, and we can’t help but feel this was their intent all along given the amount of money they have spent on advertising and continue to do so.

There is a simple solution that would show that Tribune cares about its viewers and doesn’t just see them as something to help them pressure DIRECTV in their negotiations: Tribune can leave their stations on the air for DIRECTV customers while they negotiate with us. We can only believe Tribune’s ability to negotiate a reasonable agreement with DIRECTV is being undermined by the complexities and competing interests of their lengthy bankruptcy process. Despite DIRECTV’s best efforts to compensate Tribune fairly for both WGN America and their local stations, it seems they are focused on unduly benefiting their creditors rather than their viewers. Why else would they show such bad faith actions by reneging on their offer and denying their viewers their stations when they have the ability to keep them on the air?

At this point in TRIBUNE’s ongoing 3 year bankruptcy process, we understand the demands of creditors can be extreme. However, we believe the needs and good faith in their viewers should come first, not the needs of banks. To come so close and then renege on terms that affect more than five million people defies Tribune’s long history of protecting the public interest. We hope Tribune will do the right thing by honoring their word, keeping their stations on DIRECTV and putting their viewers before creditors.

TRIBUNE DENIES STATIONS Customer Q&A

Why have my local Tribune stations and WGN America been taken away?

Tribune has informed us that we must take their local stations and WGN America down at Midnight PST Saturday, 3/31/12. It’s the last thing we at DIRECTV want to do but we have no choice. DIRECTV had absolutely no intention of removing any Tribune station. In fact, as of Thursday, March 29th, we had a handshake deal for their 23 local broadcast stations. We agreed with Tribune that their more than 700 hours of local news, traffic, weather and sports serve the public interest in their communities. Yet, they reneged on their offer.

At this point in Tribune’s ongoing three-year bankruptcy process, we understand the demands of creditors can be extreme. However, we believe the needs and good faith in our customer’s should come first, not the needs of banks.

To come so close and then renege on terms that affect millions of people defies Tribune’s long history of protecting the public interest. We hope Tribune will do the right thing by honoring their word, keeping their stations on DIRECTV and putting their viewers before creditors.

So why won’t Tribune allow us to see them?

We can’t help but wonder whether Tribune’s ability to negotiate a reasonable retransmission agreement with DIRECTV is being undermined by the complexities and competing interests in their lengthy bankruptcy process. Despite our best efforts to compensate Tribune’s stations at a fair market rate, it seems they are focused on unduly benefitting their creditors rather than viewers. Threatening station blackouts to extract exorbitant retransmission fees may provide an improved return for certain banks and hedge funds, but is not in the interest of Tribune’s viewers and is not a cure for bankruptcy.

Why shouldn’t I switch to DISH or the local cable service?

We’ve informed Tribune we’re prepared to pay what they have asked for their stations, and our customers should not be discriminated against simply because they’ve chosen DIRECTV over another competing service. If Tribune is willing to deny our customers access to their stations for no foreseeable reason, then other cable, satellite and video providers should be equally as concerned. Tribune has a very long history of serving the public interest within the communities it operates, including 165 years in their hometown headquarters of Chicago. For them to deny a significant portion of those communities the ability to see their stations – including more than 700 hours of local news, weather, traffic and sports – is uncharacteristic to say the least. Unfortunately for you and every other satellite, cable or video customer, these sorts of programming disruptions and threats have become more frequent. More than 99.6 percent of the time, DIRECTV is able to reach agreements before anyone loses any programming. This is a strange case because we have met all of Tribune’s demands for compensation on the local stations, but they now refuse to make them available. We will continue to try to work with Tribune to reverse their decision and continue to make these stations available to you by whatever means we can, including working with your local Congressional representatives, the FCC or an independent arbitrator should the situation demand.

What about WGN America? Will I lose that channel?

We’ve carried WGN America since DIRECTV began, helping it to achieve “superstation” status and tremendous value for Tribune. Tribune has decided that WGN America will be removed from their line-ups starting April 1. We had hoped that would not to occur, and asked Tribune to allow WGN America to remain in everyone’s line-up while we finalize those discussions but they have refused.

One of the things I like best about WGN America is the Cubs and White Sox telecasts, and now the new MLB season is just beginning. Can I still see those games somehow?

While we hope this will be temporary, those games will remain available to anyone living outside of the Cubs and White Sox’ home territory through MLB Extra Innings and MLB.com’s game-by-game or monthly subscription services.

What about the Cubs, White Sox, Mets and Phillies local games in Chicago, New York and Philadelphia?

The majority of Cubs, White Sox and Mets games run on local regional sports networks that DIRECTV will continue to carry. Fortunately, Tribune stations will only provide a handful of Cubs, White Sox, Mets and Phillies games during the first few weeks of the new MLB season. But that’s no excuse for any fan having to miss even one inning, which is why we told Tribune we accepted all of their financial demands to keep providing these same stations and serving the public interest. MLB has to protect the home territories of each team, so you cannot see your usual hometown broadcast of those teams carried by Tribune stations through MLB Extra Innings or MLB.com’s subscription services. However, if Tribune continues to deny the same games against the teams’ and the fan’s wishes, we will do whatever we can to work with Major League Baseball to try to make them available in at least some fashion. That could mean using the opponent’s broadcast of the game or something else, but we will do whatever we can to try to keep every fan connected.

How long am I going to be disconnected, and how will I know when the stations come back?

We had a handshake agreement on terms for Tribune’s local stations, so we don’t understand why those stations are going anywhere. They shouldn’t. It’s entirely unnecessary and unfair to every DIRECTV customer. It’s an abuse of the public interest and discriminates against DIRECTV customers whose money is equally as good as anyone else’s. We remain completely available to Tribune 24/7 to resolve this situation as quickly as possible, and continue to ask that they return your stations to our line-up during whatever time it takes to work it all out. Now that Tribune has taken them away, many people do qualify for what’s called Distant Network Signals. If your address qualifies for DNS, you will be able to view the impacted network channel somewhere within the 390-399 channel range. That will at least help to provide ABC programs in New Orleans, FOX programs in several other cities, and CW shows in the majority of Tribune’s communities.

How does that DNS qualification work exactly?

Federal law gives broadcast companies the exclusive rights to distribute local stations to the viewing public. That means we cannot – by law – deliver another network affiliate or national network signal to anyone who can receive the off-air signal of the same station through a rooftop antenna unless that station specifically agrees to allow it. If you cannot receive the station’s over-the-air signal, then you may quality for DNS. The signals are automatically available for qualified customers, so please check your channel guide between 390-399 to see if you’re getting it.

The only way I currently receive The CW is through Tribune’s Washington station WDCW. Will I lose access to my CW shows if I lose that station?

No. Since Tribune has refused to make its stations available to DIRECTV even after we had a handshake agreement, you can see another CW affiliate to provide you that programming. You will be able to continue seeing the CW uninterrupted.

Can I get my missing local channels with an over-the-air antenna?

Yes, you may be able to receive an over-the-air digital signal. It’s as simple as this. Turn off your DIRECTV receiver and switch the channel on your actual television set to the local Tribune station’s channel. If you have a newer digital television set, usually the antenna is built right in. Like the old rabbit ears, the reception depends on the local topography of where you live and whether there are buildings or other obstacles in the way between you and the Tribune Television transmitters. You can often boost that reception with an external digital antenna available fairly inexpensively from any local electronics store. And today’s antennas are quite small and convenient.

Tribune claims DIRECTV never compensated them for their local stations before. Is that true?

We’ve always compensated Tribune and have agreed to all of their demands for cash payments going forward. Any video provider – Tribune included – is measured by its ability to serve the public. Tribune has always done that admirably, dedicating more than 700 hours of local news, weather, traffic and sports to keeping their viewers informed and entertained. We have agreed to pay Tribune what they sought to prevent anyone from becoming disconnected, but now wonder whether Tribune’s ability to negotiate a reasonable retransmission agreement with DIRECTV is being undermined by the complexities and competing interests in their lengthy bankruptcy process. Threatening station blackouts to extract exorbitant retransmission fees may provide an improved return for certain banks and hedge funds, but is not in the interest of Tribune’s viewers and is not a cure for their managing their way into bankruptcy in the first place.

 

[Newbian]

Why blame DirecTV? Dish went through much the same problem a couple of years ago and lost some of their programming/channels...it happens to them all once in a while. If enough customers raise hell, they USUALLY get the problem resolved.

Because they are paying direcTV directly and not Tribune for television so since they did not resolve the situation as it appears tribune is saying never happened they have someone to blame.

Although I am not sure how it would work if they are still under contract and want to cancle early.

 

[Sonikku]

I could never get Fox on DirecTV. Screwy thing is, I did get all these locals very briefly when the guy was first setting up my dish. Yet, as soon as he synced it with GPS or whatever all those channels went away and I couldn't pay to get them back if I wanted to. I'd have to go with Time Warner to see the Simpsons. =(

 

[Dulanic]

It's retarded that these companies try to extort money from cable and sat companies. These are free OTA channels because they make their money from advertising. However, they want their cake and to eats others too.

I hate even paying the $9 i do for locals /w cable but at least I understand that. They pay for the poles and wiring to get the service to my location. I already cut the cord except for basic locals, and even that I am debating cutting soon for OTA.