AT&T, which owns DirecTV and AT&T U-Verse, came to an agreement with TEGNA, which owns Atlanta’s WXIA-TV (11Alive) and WATL-TV, ending an 18-day blackout.
The dispute was over how much AT&T was willing to pay TEGNA for the right to transmit TEGNA’s TV stations.
In a joint press release, the two sides wrote, “AT&T and TEGNA regret any inconvenience to their customers and viewers and thank them for their patience.”
Terms of the agreement were not released but it is a multi-year contract, which is standard.
This deal covers 64 TEGNA-owned stations serving 51 Nielsen markets including Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Phoenix, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington.
When the dispute went public, AT&T said, “TEGNA is demanding the largest rate increase we have ever seen.”
TEGNA, in response, said, “the value of what we offer to our pay-TV partners has never been greater. The differentiated, non-substitutable programming we provide including live local news, live local and national sports, and first run, highly popular network content is a vital reason why consumers continue to subscribe to pay-TV bundles.”
11Alive, besides its local news operations, airs “The Today Show,” “Wheel of Fortune,” “Jeopardy,” “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” “Days of Our Lives,” “Dr. Phil” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” In prime-time, NBC offers “This is Us,” “The Voice,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Chicago Hope” and “Superstore,” to name a few. Today, NBC is airing the PGA Tour Champions golf tournament at 3 p.m.
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