NEXSTAR, DIRECTV TO CONSUMERS: DROP DEAD

As DirectTV tries to keep down the costs it ultimately passes on to consumers anyway, and Nexstar tries to sweeten its over-leveraged bottom line with bigger transmission fees (which, again, consumers will pay), it is the DirecTV customers in 100 Nexstar market who are taking the groin kick while the two media giant try to enlist support for their respective causes.

Nexstar said the stations went darkat 11:59 p.m. ET on July 3 after DirecTV rejected an offer to extend the previous contract until Aug. 2 in order to continue negotiations  over a new retransmission consent deal covering dozens of Big Four network affiliates.

Nexstar wants you to know it’s DirecTV’s fault.
“DirecTV misled Nexstar as it requested that viewers not be informed about the pending expiration as long as negotiations were continuing to be constructive. Yet, with minutes to go before the prior agreement was to expire, DirecTV/AT&T did not accept Nexstar’s offer for an extension.”

DirecTV accused Nexstar of “holding viewers hostage” as a bargaining tactic.
“We had hoped to prevent Nexstar from pulling its stations from our customers’ lineups and we offered Nexstar more money to keep them available. Nexstar simply said no and elected to remove them instead.”

Pretending you give a damn about anything other than your company’s bottom line is the ultimate display of corporate chutzpah.

When this is all done, it is the consumer who will pay the bill as both these giants claim they are on your side and only looking out for you.