Thousands of DirecTV customers lost access to one or more of their local network affiliates on Independence Day due to a retransmission consent dispute between the satellite provider and Nexstar Media Group.
The dispute affects 97 markets nationally, including nine in the Upper Midwest:
- Bismarck-Minot: KXMB-CBS and KXMA-CW
- Davenport: WHBF-CBS and KGCW-CW
- Des Moines: WOI-ABC and KCWI-CW
- Green Bay: WFRV-CBS
- La Crosse: WLAX-FOX
- Marquette: WJMN-CBS
- Rapid City: KCLO-CBS
- Sioux City: KCAU-ABC
- Sioux Falls: KELO-CBS
Nexstar says DirecTV turned down an unconditional offer of an extension until August 2. DirecTV says Nexstar is demanding a fee increase that’s larger than it’s willing to pay.
The outage comes just over a month after AT&T/DirecTV integrated nonprofit local station streamer Locast into its platforms and a week after AT&T announced a $500,000 donation to Locast. The streamer serves the Rapid City and Sioux Falls markets, but not other parts of the Upper Midwest.