Will Channel 8 and 13 Come Back to Direct Tv

Rochester area DirecTV customers are in an uproar as two local channels have disappeared from their lineup in recent weeks, without a clear solution for getting them back.

A cast of large media companies, including the owner of pay-TV provider DirecTV, AT&T, are entangled in multiple contract disputes that resulted in the channel blackouts for local watchers. More on that later.

But first, if you're a DirecTV customer, here are some potential solutionsfor you to work around this issue right now.

Buy a regular television antenna

You can buy an antenna off the shelf at Walmart, Lowe's or other retail stores in the area that will plug into your television and provide access to local network channels, free of a satellite or cable connection.

Translation: You'll bypass your DirecTV connection.

"These will allow you to get the signal right off the air," said Marshall DeMay, who works in the electrical department at Lowe's in Webster. Those antennas, depending on their range and quality, will run you from about $15 and up.

They typically connect to the back of your TV in a spot labeled "video," or "VHF-UHF" on HDTVs, and usually use a coaxial cable, which is a round cable with a screw-on end. You will likely have to select "TV" on your remote to switch to the new antenna.

A couple disclaimers: Depending on how far away you are from the Rochester metro area and the quality of the antenna you purchase, the picture may not be perfect, and you may not get all the local channels you hoped for.

You'd also be getting channels for free that you already paid to access through DirecTV. On the bright side, at least you'd be able to watch your local content.

Switch to a streaming service, cable provider

This may be a more complicated option, but local cable providers aren't involved in this particular contract imbroglio, and many online streaming services like YouTube TV and Sling TV offer local channels over the internet. If this situation is making you want to ditch the satellite connection altogether, look into some of these connection choices.

Threaten to cancel your DirecTV service

I have not confirmed this myself, but customers on social media claim that when they've called and threatened to cancel their service, they've been offered a free antenna and/or a monetary credit for their DirecTV account. I've contacted DirecTV to ask about this — the company has yet to respond.

DirecTV reportedly offered a free antenna to Ken and Denise Carl of East Rochester, when Ken Carl called to inquire about the channel situation. He refused.

"I felt that was an unacceptable solution," said Carl, adding that "the body language" of that offer meant that he might not get Channels 8 and 13 back through DirecTV for a while. He's a longtime DirecTV customer who pays $142 a month for service, and he's now considering switching to Spectrum cable.

"I feel like AT&T is the driving force (of the issues,) and AT&T doesn't really care about me as a DirecTV customer," he said.

To call DirecTV about your service, use (800) 531-5000. Channel 8 is urging customers to call (855) 937-9466 to demand the station back. When you call this number, you'll get a recording arguing that AT&T decided to remove a number of CBS-affiliated stations from the air. You are then connected to DirecTV customer service.

Meanwhile, local radio personality, pasta sauce purveyor and DirecTV customer Pauly Guglielmo, aka Pauly Googs, posted a video to his public Facebook page saying that he got a free antenna from DirecTV by calling and specifically asking for a "local channel connector." He encountered some trouble getting the device to work, but eventually succeeded and describes the process in his video.

Wait. What's going on?

For those wondering about the details on why this is happening in the first place, here's the short version.

AT&T, which owns DirecTV, is currently hammering out contract agreements with Deerfield Media, which owns Channel 13, and Nexstar Media Group, which owns Channel 8.

Channel 13 went dark in late May, and Channel 8 did the same at 11:59 p.m. on July 3 (120 other Nexstar stations nationwide went down simultaneously.) In the case of Channel 8, AT&T and Nexstar slung competing statements at each other earlier this week, blaming the other for the holdup.

"These types of disputes are often resolved quickly," said AT&T in a recent statement. But if the Channel 13/Deerfield Media Group dispute is any indication, it might be a while — Channel 13 has yet to come back after nearly two months.

U.S. Representative Joseph Morelle, D-Irondequoit, sent a disapproving letter to AT&T and Nexstar on Wednesday, asking that the lost channels be restored while the contract dispute continues.

"Individuals and families rely on these local channels for their daily news, including important weather and public safety information," the letter read. "To deny this programming is an irresponsible disservice to the community."

Blackouts of specific local channels are not uncommon amid contract negotiations. In January, just as the NFL playoffs were approaching, 6 million Spectrum TV subscribers lost local channels in New York City, Los Angeles, Denver, St. Louis and 20 other markets during a contract standoff between Charter and the Tribune Media broadcast group.

STADDEO@Gannett.com and MGREENWO@Gannett.com

More:DirecTV customers lose another local channel

More:Is 13WHAM gone for DirecTV customers? It's the question of the moment on social media.

Will Channel 8 and 13 Come Back to Direct Tv

Source: https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2019/07/11/directtv-directvrochester-13-wham-channel-8-how-to-get-your-channels-back/1703118001/

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