⚡ Service Notice

Some Local Channels Went Dark on DIRECTV. Here's What a Carriage Dispute Is, and Why It Happens to Every Provider.

On May 31, the E.W. Scripps Company pulled 54 local stations from DIRECTV in a retransmission dispute. These standoffs are a normal part of how television works, they hit every carrier, and they almost always get resolved. Here is the full picture, plus what you can do in the meantime.

Published June 2, 2026  ·  EmpireTV News Desk

On Sunday evening, May 31, 2026, the E.W. Scripps Company removed 54 of its local television stations from DIRECTV across 36 markets after the two companies could not agree on a new carriage contract. If you are in one of the affected markets, your local ABC, CBS, NBC, or Fox station may be temporarily unavailable on DIRECTV satellite, streaming, and U-verse.

We want to give you the straight story: what happened, why it happened, and what you can do right now. The short version is that this is a routine industry event, it is not unique to DIRECTV, and it is almost certainly temporary.

What Is a Carriage Dispute, in Plain English

Every TV provider, including DIRECTV, Dish, Comcast, Spectrum, and even the streaming services, pays the companies that own local stations a fee to carry their channels. This is called retransmission consent. When that contract comes up for renewal, the two sides negotiate a new price.

Most of the time they reach a deal quietly and you never notice. Once in a while they cannot agree by the deadline, and the station owner pulls its channels until a new contract is signed. That temporary gap is the blackout. It is a negotiating tactic, not a permanent loss, and these disputes are almost always resolved within days or weeks.

In this case, DIRECTV has said Scripps asked for the highest rates it has ever been asked to pay for these channels. DIRECTV declined and asked for a more reasonable deal. Scripps responded by pulling its stations. Scripps, for its part, says it is seeking fair compensation for local news and sports. Both sides are now negotiating toward a new agreement.

Why DIRECTV Pushed Back, and Why That Protects Your Bill

Retransmission fees have climbed sharply over the years, reaching close to $50 a month in some markets. Every time a provider agrees to a large increase, that cost gets passed down to subscribers. DIRECTV has said it declined Scripps' demand specifically to avoid another round of price increases for its customers and business accounts. In other words, the friction you are seeing is DIRECTV holding the line on what you pay.

This Happens to Every Provider, Not Just DIRECTV

If you switched to another provider tomorrow, you would simply be trading one set of disputes for another. The very same company behind this DIRECTV blackout has been doing the same thing to competitors:

The takeaway is simple. No provider is immune. These are money fights between giant media companies, and customers get caught in the middle no matter whose service they use. Switching providers does not make carriage disputes go away.

A Few Recent Examples, and How Quickly They Resolved

These standoffs have hit nearly every major provider in the last two years, including the streaming services. The pattern is almost always the same: a temporary blackout over price, followed by a new deal that brings the channels back.

Markets Affected

The blackout reaches 36 Nielsen markets nationwide. Confirmed affected markets include:

Plus additional markets among the 36 affected. If you are unsure whether your location is impacted, contact your EmpireTV account team and we will check for you.

What You Can Do Right Now

Bottom line: these disputes are temporary by nature. Both companies have every reason to reach a deal, and history shows they almost always do. We are monitoring the situation and will keep you posted as it develops.