American Television Alliance Statement on TEGNA Blackout of DIRECTV Customers

Dec 1, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Television Alliance (ATVA) issued a statement in response to TEGNA’s blackout of 66 stations in 52 markets for DIRECTV customers this holiday season.

“DIRECTV has remained at the negotiating table, but TEGNA’s blackout will immediately impact several million DIRECTV and U-verse customers across the country who typically rely on TEGNA for access to favorite college football teams representing popular state universities, NFL games including the upcoming playoffs and Super Bowl, local news, and other programs,” said ATVA spokesperson Cora Mandy. “This blackout represents more of the same tired old tactics from TEGNA’s well-worn playbook that come entirely at the expense of American consumers. The FCC and Congress must take a stand and protect consumers.”

This blackout marks the fourth of TEGNA’s recent major blackouts across the country, including:

  • A blackout for Verizon customers across the 4 US markets including major cities, D.C. and New York in January of 2022.
  • A blackout of nearly 3 million DISH TV customers’ local channels across 53 US markets starting in October 2021.
  • A blackout of Mediacom customers which hit its one-year anniversary on New Year’s Eve – beginning on December 31, 2020. 

Broadcasters increased retransmission consent fees by an overwhelming 5,359%, from $200 million in 2006 to $11.7 billion in 2019. This broken system does not work for consumers and has led to over 200 blackouts in 2023 alone.

To learn more about outdated broadcast regulations and their impact on the American consumer, visit https://americantelevisionalliance.org/about-the-issue/.