Subscribers in 23 Markets Across the U.S. Left in the Dark
WICHITA FALLS, TX (Oct. 23, 2022)—On Friday, Oct. 21, at 3 p.m. ET, 25 Mission Broadcasting television stations in 23 markets across the United States were taken off DirectTV’s distribution system when the contract between Mission and DirecTV expired. As a result of DirecTV’s action, many DirecTV subscribers are unable to watch the national and local community programming provided by these stations. These subscribers will be unable to view this weekend’s college and NFL football games, the local news, weather, and sports delivered by these stations, and all the entertainment programming provided by Mission’s network partners, CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC, The CW and MyNet.
“We are extremely disappointed to have failed to reach an agreement with DirecTV,” said Dennis Thatcher, Mission Broadcasting Inc.’s President. “We are merely seeking the same fair agreement that we have come to with other cable, satellite, and telco providers for the high-quality programming we provide. We produce thousands of hours of local news and programming. We pay our network partners millions of dollars for entertainment programming and live sports. The cost to do these things has, understandably, gone up significantly—especially live sports rights—and these costs are passed along to us, the station owner. DirecTV subscribers are caught in the middle, denying them programming they’ve already paid for. Mission has a long track record of negotiating fairly and avoiding service interruptions in our markets, and we don’t want viewers in our local markets to miss any college or NFL football, the World Series, World Cup, or the vitally important local news, sports, and weather coverage we deliver every day.”
It is important to note here that Mission Broadcasting is the largest female majority-owned local broadcasting company in the United States.
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Mission Broadcasting, Inc., a television broadcasting company founded in 1996, acquires, develops, and operates television stations and interactive community Websites in medium-sized markets in the United States. Its stations provide programming to its markets’ viewing audiences via cable or satellite services or over-the-air to those who utilize a television antenna. The company currently owns broadcast television stations in 26 markets across the country and has network affiliation agreements with ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CW and MyNetwork. Mission’s majority shareholder is Nancie J. Smith, who is the leading female owner of broadcast television stations in the U.S. Mission’s portfolio includes ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW, MyNetworkTV affiliates in Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont.
