Friday, December 30, 2016

Cox Media Group Stations Also Face Disruption

Cox Media Group’s (CMG’s) local television stations has begun notifying their viewers of a potential service disruption involving AT&T U-Verse and DIRECTV.

CMG’s retransmission consent agreements for subscribers to those services expire at 11:59 PM Pacific Time on December 31, 2016, and a new agreement has not yet been reached.

This disruption could affect AT&T U-Verse and DIRECTV subscribers in Atlanta (WSBTV-2), Boston (WFXT-25), Charlotte (WSOC-9 and WAXN-64), Dayton (WHIO-7), Jacksonville (WFOX-30), Memphis (WHBQ-13), Orlando (WFTV-9 and WRDQ-27), Pittsburgh (WPXI-11), Seattle (KIRO-7) and Tulsa (KOKI-23 and KMYT-41).

CMG has successfully negotiated retransmission consent agreements with every cable and satellite programmer that carries its stations across the country with the exception of AT&T U-Verse and DIRECTV. The parties continue to negotiate and CMG is committed to working around the clock to preserve service for all of its viewers. At the same time, CMG feels a responsibility to let its viewers know of the potential impending service disruption so that viewers who depend on its stations can make alternative arrangements for receiving local television service.

Jane Williams, CMG’s Executive Vice President for Television issued the following statement:
“We are disappointed that CMG and AT&T appear to be reaching an impasse that could lead to a disruption in service for AT&T U-Verse and DIRECTV subscribers. We have negotiated many of these agreements with cable and satellite operators throughout the United States and have rarely had disputes of this kind. In just the past few weeks, we have reached agreement with some of the largest video distributors in the country. We certainly hope for the same result in our negotiations with AT&T/DIRECTV.”

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