DirecTV will allow customers to opt out of getting local TV stations to pay less for its service.
“Consumers have been voting with their wallets for years that pay TV – as currently constructed – is too expensive and restricts their choices,” said Rob Thun, DIRECTV chief content officer. “Our new ‘No Locals’ package enables customers to take an important step forward in culling out certain types of content they may no longer care to watch and better balance the price they are willing to pay.”
Customers who opt out of receiving local stations directly from DirecTV will receive discounts of approximately $140 per year or $12 each month.
The satellite carrier said that, according to a survey conducted on behalf of the American Television Alliance, nearly 80% of consumers are looking for greater choice and more modular programming options that allow them to opt in or out of the types of programming they’re willing to pay for.
DirecTV also said it’s being more “more collaborative” during retrans negotiations to “quell the number of local stations blackouts and curb the rising cost for cable, satellite, and streaming homes to retain their ‘free’ over the air stations.”
From DirecTV:
National broadcast network content has suffered a more than 40% decline in viewership since 2015, according to Nielsen Media Research. The major studios that own the national broadcast networks keep shifting top series producers and most buzzed about scripted shows that had bolstered local stations’ primetime lineups over to their streaming services instead. That trend continues to diminish the quantity and quality of scripted entertainment on these same local stations, as the major broadcast networks’ collective share of Emmy nominations has plummeted 55% since 2014. In the most recent 75th Emmy Awards, for instance, the only broadcast network representation in any key series or acting categories was ABC’s Abbott Elementary, while ABC sibling FX on Hulu’s The Bear swept the top awards against an Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Max, and Netflix-heavy field.