DIRECTV subscribers in the Indianapolis market weren’t able to watch ABC’s prime-time programming through the platform on Monday after a dispute with Circle City Broadcasting forced the company to remove their local affiliate.
The dispute was anticipated, with both sides trading blame for the disruption in dueling statements last week. As typical, the issue centers around fees and other carriage terms that Circle City Broadcasting is imposing on DIRECTV for the privilege of carrying WRTV (Channel 6, ABC) on its satellite and streaming platform.
Circle City is also holding out for a deal that will see the return of two other channels, WISH-TV (Channel 8, CW) and WNDY (Channel 23), which have been unavailable to DIRECTV customers for several years.
In a statement on Monday, a spokesperson for DIRECTV said the company continues to work with Circle City toward a new deal that restores WRTV to its platforms, but the broadcaster is insisting “customers must pay for its less-popular WISH and WNDY stations to get WRTV back, at a cost nearly double what its previous owner collected.”
“These higher costs come after Circle City laid off most of WRTV’s newsroom just hours after taking control of the station, replaced its local newscasts with ones produced by WISH, and put both stations under a single news director,” the DIRECTV spokesperson said. “As a result, Indianapolis went from three independent local television news operations servicing six stations down to just two, meaning fewer reporters, fewer independent voices and less local coverage for the community.”
In an earlier statement, Circle City did not dispute it wanted a deal that covers all three of its Indianapolis stations.
“By refusing to compensate my locally owned and operated company at those established market rates, DIRECTV is effectively seeking to devalue Hoosier-produced local television content on its platform and place my company at a significant competitive disadvantage relative to other broadcasters in the Indianapolis market that receive compensation consistent with established fair market value,” Circle City owner DuJuan McCoy said on Monday.
He charged DIRECTV with making “false and misleading” claims about what Circle City was proposing to continue offering satellite and streaming subscribers ongoing access to ABC programming, saying his company was “not asking for anywhere close to double what DIRECTV paid WRTV’s previous owner to carry WRTV.”
But Circle City has also made misleading claims about the situation, telling viewers they could lose access to college and professional sports that his channels do not carry and warning DIRECTV subscribers that they may not be able to watch the Super Bowl in February. The Super Bowl is being simulcast on ABC from ESPN, which will be carried next year under an agreement with the network’s parent company Disney, which is separate from Circle City’s contract with DIRECTV.
The dispute comes just a few weeks before ESPN and ABC are expected to start offering Monday Night Football games from the NFL during the regular season, which kicks off in early September. The hometown Indianapolis Colts are not playing any games on ESPN or ABC this season. Pre-season games are aired on Nexstar-owned WTTV (Channel 4, CBS).
WRTV can be received by most Indianapolis residents for free using a conventional over-the-air TV antenna. Other platforms that carry the channel include Comcast’s Xfinity TV, Charter’s Spectrum TV, Hulu with Live TV and Fubo.
