Blackout of CBS could last into NFL season
Network for DirectTV and U-verse subscribers might go dark today
DirecTV and U-verse television subscribers in Broward and Miami-Dade counties who want to watch football on CBS this fall might consider getting an antenna.
So should subscribers of the two AT&T-owned services who want to watch any of their favorite CBS shows — like NCIS, Big Brother, Elementary and Love Island — after today.
WFOR-Ch. 4 was expected to go dark on the systems after 2 a.m. Saturday if AT&T and CBS couldn’t come to an agreement on programming fees. AT&T warned Friday that CBS’ absence from its systems could be prolonged.
A lengthy blackout could force subscribers to find other ways to watch Miami Dolphins preseason games that WFOR plans to broadcast on Aug. 8, Aug. 16 and Aug. 29, as well as the Dolphins’ regular season games against the New England Patriots on Sept. 15 and the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 29.
Long absences from AT&T’s platforms have become common in recent years.
In 2016, the Miami market’s Fox affiliate, WSVN-Ch. 7, disappeared from U-verse for four weeks during the NFL playoffs and from DirecTV for two weeks later that year. About 120 stations owned by Nexstar Media Group were pulled off DirecTV and Uverse two weeks ago.
CBS this week warned that the signals of CBS-owned stations in 17 markets including Miami and Tampa could be pulled after Friday from AT&T’s platforms, which include the DirecTV Now streaming service, unless the two companies reach agreement over fees AT&T must pay to carry the channels.
Two CBS-owned channels not available via antenna — CBS Sports Network and the Smithsonian Channel — would also go away. CBS Sports is scheduled to show the University of Central Florida against Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton on Sept. 7.
West Palm Beach’s CBS affiliate, WPEC, Ch. 12, is owned by Sinclair Broadcasting and is unaffected by the dispute.
AT&T’s latest statement accused CBS of purposely seeking too much money to trigger blackouts and force viewers to subscribe to its online streaming service CBS All Access.
“It’s become clear to us that CBS is intent on blacking out any home that chooses to receive cable or satellite service to up-sell CBS All Access subscriptions,” the statement said.
CBS rejected AT&T’s offer “to pay CBS an unprecedented rate increase and the highest fee we currently pay to any major broadcast network,” the statement said.
A CBS Corp. source who declined to be named countered Friday that the network’s current deal with AT&T has been in place since 2012. Since then, other cable and satellite providers have
agreed to pay fair market rates while AT&T insists on “below market terms,” the source said, adding, “We’re just asking to be compensated fairly.”
AT&T’s statement advised viewers affected by the blackout to seek alternative ways to watch CBS’ programming, including connecting to antenna and viewing via websites operated by the network and its stations.
But CBS’ websites typically do not provide free access to CBS’ entertainment and sports lineups. Competitors ABC, NBC and Fox provide streaming access to much of their programming to viewers who sign in with their TV provider credentials, while CBS requires a separate subscription for most of its content.
Another way DirecTV customers can keep WFOR-Ch. 4 is by requesting a new product called Local Channel Connector that uses an indoor antenna to pull overthe-air signals into DirecTV’s Genie receiver and DVR. With it, overthe-air broadcasts can be paused and recorded just like those delivered via satellite.
DirecTV offers the kit, including the antenna, for free to customers affected by local blackouts. To get it, call 800-531-5000.