Get 1,000+ Free Secret Apps on Firestick & Android TV/Google TV
DirecTV Sues Nexstar & Others Over Local Channels Dispute
Popular satellite TV Provider DirecTV has filed a lawsuit against 3 television station owners in a Manhattan Federal Court.
Nexstar, White Knight, and Mission Broadcasting are on the receiving end of the lawsuit which claims a violation of antitrust laws.
In a press release from DirecTV, the company alleges a price-fixing conspiracy between the 3 TV broadcast owners.
Today’s lawsuit… charges America’s largest broadcaster Nexstar Media Group with violating federal antitrust law by engaging in an illegal conspiracy with Mission Broadcasting and White Knight Broadcasting to manipulate, raise and fix the prices of so-called retransmission consent fees that DIRECTV must pay to offer ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX local stations
This results in 27 different local stations being blacked out to hundreds of thousands of subscribers across the United States.
You can see a complete list of markets that have been affected by these blackouts in DirecTV’s official press release.
The lawsuit aims to block Nexstar from colluding with White Knight Broadcasting & Mission Broadcasting in price negotiations with DirecTV.
It claims that Nexstar is working with smaller broadcast owners to avoid FCC regulations and any violations of applicable laws.
Nexstar utilizes Mission and White Knight to skirt FCC station ownership caps and other federal laws through collusive retransmission consent negotiations with “sidecar” station groups that it manages
DirecTV also states that both Mission Broadcasting and White Knight Broadcasting have entered some type of an agreement to “relinquish decision-making authority to Nexstar”.
This includes prohibiting Mission and White Knight from engaging with DirecTV for negotiations regarding their broadcast rights to local affiliates.
Ultimately, this results in MVPDs (Multichannel Video Programming Distributors) being forced to pay high fees to retransmit their channels.
This could also result in a complete loss of access to these local channels if an agreement cannot be made.
Nexstar disputes DirecTV’s claim in a statement made to cordcutternews.com:
Nexstar’s shared services agreements with White Knight and Mission Broadcasting are in full compliance with FCC rules, and each station group independently negotiates its own retransmission consent agreements with its cable, satellite, and telco partners. This lawsuit is without merit and Nexstar looks forward to prevailing in court.
You can read the complete lawsuit from DirecTV using the link below.
DirecTV vs Nextar, Mission Broadcasting, & White Knight Broadcasting
We want to know what you think of DirecTV’s lawsuit against Nexstar. Let us know in the comments section below!
For the latest news and tutorials in the streaming and tech world, be sure to sign up for the TROYPOINT Advisor with updates weekly.
This Advisor provides all the best tips, reviews, and guides to get the most out of your favorite streaming devices. Click the link below for your TROYPOINT Advisor Subscription:
Your online activity is tracked by your government, Internet Service Provider, app/addon/IPTV devs and all websites through your identifying IP address
Stream anonymously by using Surfshark VPN
Your Current Identifying IP Address:
SAVE 82% ON SURFSHARK VPN + 2 FREE MONTHS
Surfshark backs their service with a 30-day money back guarantee
Use your account on unlimited devices & share with family members
HURRY! SALE ENDS SOON
Claim Surfshark VPN Discount
This page includes affiliate links where TROYPOINT may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Many times, you will receive a discount due to the special arrangements made for our visitors. I will never promote something that I personally don't use or recommend. Purchasing through my links directly supports TROYPOINT which keeps the content and tools coming. Thank you! Learn more on my Affiliate Disclaimer page.
i have nexstar in my town and it is obvious something is wrong because they bomb you with adds for the newsnation channel that they also own. newsnation is fox’s rival and they are horrible. i wish nexstar would leave my city but since it is a conservative market that probably won’t happen. i’m rooting for direct tv in this court battle.
Is this the reason why these channels dissappeared on Xenon builds whereas they once were. Will these channels possibly return soon?
I’m very upset with Nextstar they blacked out CBS right when all the new season right when they were just starting to come on just like Tough as Nails was to start at 7pm and they cut it off at 6:50 pm and now Big Brother new season started and I can’t watch it either because of the blackout and there’s 2 more good shows supposed to start in a few days so please stop wanting more money and give us our channels back and all Nextstar and Direct tv can only give us $10 off our bill every 2 months as long as the blackout lasts so ya’ll need to shit or get off the pot..
The issue is that while I understand programming quality drives viewership, the locals used to be content that the signals were being rebrodcast at all. Then, the rules changed and as content prices went up to the network affiliates, they started wanting to monetize their licends content beyond commercials. This isn’t really “new” , but more and more we all experience those banners from the station blaming the cable/satellite provider, and a competing banner or message from the cable/satellite provider. You can’t even log into abc, nbc, cbs, or fox website to watch conetnt without either having an account, or providing your login for your content provider. The only other option is to use an antenna. For thise of us living in major cities close to towers, that’s not an issue. But for rural folks or people on the fringe of the city limits ths becomes an issue.
I am close to adding antennas for the devices in our house as this is getting old.
nexstar bought my local favorite tv station a few years ago. i have watched it go down hill ever since. one of the worst things is having to watch commercials for “news nation” over and over. the only channel i watch besides local news is msnbc.
I had Direct TV for years. Then I put a $30 antenna in the yard, bought my 1st Firestick, and subscribed to troypoint. I’ve since shown some family members the path away from Dish also.I know that I’ve saved a lot of $. Wish I knew where it went.
I have direct Tv and haven’t had my local abc channel for months now. I have a set of rabbit ears that I use to get it. It’s a pain in the ass but it works.
I’m confused by some of the comments. It states Nexstar is colluding with other networks to raise prices for retransmission companies like Directv and Starlink and skirt FCC regulations. This means higher costs to consumers. How is this good for anyone but the Nexstar executives?
they are million dollar companies crying for nothing ,they make millions and want more if some other company makes a little more money than the other and they start crying lawsuit. GREED that’s what this lawsuit is about.
Nexstar is a greedy company like other’s based on what I have seen and read. It’s ok to receive a fee for retransmission of signal’s but not make a paycheck off of them (Direct TV) (Dish Network)
Thumbs up for Nexstar!!!!!
please explain your praise of nexstar
Nextstar you need to get your act together because football season getting ready to start and if ya’ll don’t get this issue fixed by the time that NFL season starts in September you’re gonna have a lot of mad and upset people and you’ll gonna be losing a lot of customers but I guess that you all don’t need the money ya’ll just love to see us suffer