NEXSTAR’S BEARDS ARE NOW IN AN UNCOMFORTABLE LIMELIGHT

If you plunked down money on a bet that DirecTV and Nexstar would end their nearly-two-month standoff just before the start of the NFL season, prepare to kiss the money goodbye.

Especially now that DirecTV and another interested party have gone to the Federal Communications Commission adamantly requesting that the commission look into how Nexstar goes about managing the stations owned by well-known beards Mission Broadcasting and White Knight Broadcasting.

The 25 stations owned by Mission and White Knight are actually controlled by Nexstar and have been off DirecTV since last October.

On July 1^st, they were joined by the 160 stations directly owned by Nexstar.

And DirecTV is pressing its argument that Nexstar’s management services agreement with the two passive owners violates FCC rules because Nexstar execs inevitably can get their hands on the stations’ retrans agreements which are supposed to be firewalled by the licensee.

Now don’t expect the FCC to jump feet first into this issue.

But you can see that a quick end to the standoff between the two is only getting more hostile.

At the same time, the former owner of WNAC in Providence, RI is challenging Nexstar Media Group’s application to renew broadcast licenses for more than a dozen stations over

In Providence, Nexstar owns WPRI while WNAC is owned by Nexstar beard Mission

WNAC LLC contends that Nexstar failed to submit timely reports on political advertising and then provided false statements claiming it had properly issued reports when it applied for the renewal of 12 station licenses.

The late filings were just confined to Nexstar’s New England operations.

Some of Nexstar’s biggest TV stations like KRON in San Francisco, CA., WIVB in Buffalo, NY, KGPE in Fresno, CA, and KHON in Honolulu, HI also have had issues in the past and they are among the group of stations whose licenses are being challenged by WNAC.

Nexstar contends it is being harassed and then blamed station employees for any late filings.

Stay classy guys.