DirecTV has found itself on the brink of yet another carriage dispute.
Television stations belonging to Tribune Broadcasting in 16 markets nationwide have begun informing DirecTV subscribers that they'll be losing those stations' programming at midnight on March 31, when Tribune and DirecTV's contract expires.
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“Despite our best efforts, DirecTV is refusing to offer a fair deal and we remain far apart in negotiations,” Tribune Broadcasting president Nils Larsen said of the face-off. “As a result of DirecTV’s inflexibility, there’s a strong likelihood that service interruptions will occur. We feel we have an obligation to make sure DirecTV subscribers are aware that they will lose the programming provided both by our local stations and WGN America after Saturday.”
According to Tribune, the company wants a deal with DirecTV similar to other broadcasters, who receive compensation from the broadcast satellite service for the right to distribute their programming. Tribune claims that DirecTV has never compensated them for rebroadcast of Tribune's television stations.
Tribune also noted that, in those markets where the company owns the local Fox and CW affiliates, subscribers will miss out on such fare as "American Idol," "Glee," MLB baseball and "Gossip Girl."
Tribune also owns the local ABC affiliate in New Orleans, as well as WGN in Chicago, New York City station WPIX, and Philadelphia station WPHL, which DirecTV subscribers will also lose access to if an agreement can't be reached.
Larsen also noted that subscribers in affected areas will still have access to Tribune programming via alternate means.
"Our broadcast stations are available for free in HD with a TV antenna or through an alternative pay-TV provider,” Larsen said.
DirecTV counters that they "have always compensated Tribune fairly and have no problem continuing to do so," in a statement provided to TheWrap. The statement adds that the two companies continue to negotiate, and that DirecTV is confident that the situation will be resolved amicably.
"We anticipate that Tribune will honor its 165-year history of serving the public interest and allow the stations to remain on as we continue to negotiate," the statement notes.
DirecTV has found itself in numerous scrapes with its programming providers in recent months. Last October, the company threatened to yank FX, National Geographic and other Fox Networks channels if a new carriage agreement wasn't reached by the end of that month. More recently, in January, DirecTV subscribers in Boston and Miami were unable to watch the Green Bay Packers-New York Giants NFL playoff game and the Golden Globe awards during a dispute with Sunbeam Television.