Tribune Broadcasting is threatening to pull the signals of its 23 stations from DirecTV if the two companies cannot come to a carriage agreement by midnight on Saturday.
“Despite our best efforts, DirecTV is refusing to offer a fair deal and we remain far apart in negotiations,” Tribune president Nils Larson said in a statement. “As a result of DirecTV’s inflexibility, there’s a strong likelihood that service interruptions will occur.”
“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,” DirecTV said in a statement. “…We have absolutely no intention of denying anyone access to these stations, unless Tribune specifically demands it.”
The current agreement between DirecTV and Tribune expires on March 31. Tribune is reminding viewers that stations can be seen for free over the air if the stations disappear from the satellite service.