DirecTV subscribers in markets like Dallas, Phoenix, St. Louis, and Portland may soon have one less option on their TV dials.
Belo–owner of WFAA in Dallas; KTVK in Phoenix; KMOV in St. Louis; and KGW in Portland, OR; as well as several other stations across the country–has yet to reach a new carriage agreement with DirecTV as the existing one is set to expire at midnight, tonight.
“We have attempted to negotiate with DirecTV for months to reach an agreement and avoid any disruption in service,” KMOV president and general manger Allan Cohen said in a statement, echoing what other Belo station bosses have said with the deadline looming. “Our parent company, Belo Corp., has reached an agreement with numerous other providers resulting in no disruption of service to the viewers.”
DirecTV has not commented publicly on its negotiations with Belo since the company issued a statement on October 13th saying that it values “the Belo stations and are negotiating diligently to reach an equitable agreement with them.”
Most Belo stations have been alerting viewers to the ensuing deadline during their newscasts today, in addition to running alerts on their websites.
Here’s a list of stations that could go dark…
WFAA, Dallas-Fort Worth
KHOU, Houston
KTVK-KASW, Phoenix
KING-KONG, Seattle
KMOV, St. Louis
KGW, Portland
WCNC, Charlotte
KENS, San Antonio
WVEC, Hampton-Norfolk, VA
KVUE, Austin, TX
WHAS, Louisville
WWL-WUPL, New Orleans
KMSB-KTTU, Tucson
KREM-KSKN, Spokane
KTVB, Boise