Why WHO 13 is not on DirecTV and when the dispute may be resolved
Des Moines-based WHO-DT has been removed from all DirecTV services because the two media companies were unable to reach a new distribution agreement.
As a result, 10 million Americans have lost access to local news, traffic, weather, sports and entertainment, according to a news release from Nexstar Media group, which owns the local NBC affiliate. Nexstar owns or controls more than 159 local stations, including Channel 13 in the Des Moines metro, according to the website Boilerplate. Top markets L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Denver also are affected.
The disruption affects DirecTV, U-verse and DirecTV Stream subscribers.
Nexstar is the largest U.S. owner of local TV stations. The network also owns NewsNation and a stake in the CW broadcast network.
What is the disagreement?
According to a news release from DirecTV, the company says Nextar demands more than double the current viewer fees from DirecTV.
Meanwhile, since the end of 2022, Nexstar has threatened or removed stations it owns or controls from DirecTV, according to the distributor.
"Nexstar has a long track record of forcing programming outages in an effort to unnecessarily raise prices for everyone at the expense of the communities they are licensed and entrusted to serve," Rob Thun, chief content officer, said in a statement.
Nexstar spokesperson Gary Weitman told the Des Moines Register in an email that the contract with the company's main satellite service, internet bundle DirecTV Now and U-verse cable systems is four years old and out of date. DirecTV continues to raise prices for customers but is paying Nexstar for programming at rates set years ago, the company says.
"They have benefitted during that time from paying below market rates to us even as they continued raising rates for their customers," Weitman said. "We offered them an extension to a date of their choosing up to Oct. 31, while we continued negotiating, and they flatly refused."
Even so, Nexstar said it has been negotiating tirelessly and in "good faith" in an attempt to reach a mutually agreeable multi-year contract.
When will WHO13 be back on DirecTV?
Right now, it is uncertain when the negotiations will come to a close.
The industry website Deadline Hollywood reported the impasse may take a while as we enter a summer sports and must-see-TV lull. The two-month-old WGA writers' strike, which already had stopped the flow of new programming, could be another factor to its longevity, Deadline reported.
"While DIRECTV is disappointed by this development, the company is committed to negotiating with Nexstar to reach an agreement that brings Nexstar content back on-air while protecting customers from unwarranted cost increases," Thomas Tyrer, a spokesperson for DirecTV, said in an email to the Register.
A dispute between Mediacom and TEGNA that ended last year lasted more than 400 days. Viewers in 2021 were unable to watch the Cy-Hawk game because of the extended negotiations.
What may DirecTV viewers miss?
Nexstar says its viewers are at risk of missing the Women's World Cup, British Open, LIV golf, MLB All-Star Game and all of the entertainment programming on its network partners CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC, The CW and MyNet.
"If the interruption in service continues for a protracted period of time, DIRECTV subscribers are at risk of losing access to pre-season NFL Football, and perhaps the opening games of the 2023-24 football season," according to a news release from Nexstar.
How can DirecTV subscribers watch WHO13?
DirecTV subscribers can't watch WHO until a contract is in place. Viewers could pick up Channel 13 with an old-fashioned TV antennae or switch to a new provider like Hulu or Dish.
Nixson Benítez is a breaking news intern at the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at nbenitez@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines' WHO 13 not on DirecTV as companies negotiate new contract
