An agreement wasn’t expected, and as the 8pm Eastern hour began on August 24, a segment of local television viewers in Indianapolis lost access to their local ABC Television Network affiliate. The reason? It’s all about the escalating disagreement between MVPDs and broadcast TV companies over what amounts to fair compensation in a retransmission consent accord.
With hours to go before the previous carriage agreement, negotiated by the station’s previous owner, expired, an expected “blackout,” by law, of WRTV-6 in Indianapolis transpired.
With the lack of a fresh accord, WRTV become the third of Circle City Broadcasting‘s trio of TV stations to become unavailable to DirecTV subscribers.
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Word first surfaced on August 20 that the loss of availability of WRTV-6 on DirecTV was a strong possibility.
In a station announcement to viewers appearing on the station’s website, which remains on The E.W. Scripps Co. platform nearly five months after Circle City completed its acquisition of the station, Circle City says it has negotiated with DirecTV “in good faith and has offered what it believes are fair market terms for its stations.”
Furthermore, the McCoy-owned licensee believes DirecTV “is treating its locally owned stations differently than stations owned by larger broadcast groups and placing less value on the local news, weather, sports and community programming they provide to Hoosiers.”
That, of course, is a viewpoint seen through the lens of a broadcast TV station owner who, like the largest ownership groups in the U.S., has invested heavily in local newscast development and the creation of content it owns. As such, free-to-air TV — especially today with its increased live sports content — has more value than ever, and compensation from MVPDs should reflect this present-day reality.
Don’t tell that to DirecTV, which went to the Indianapolis Star to provide a statement Circle City later repudiated on Saturday (8/22).
“After reviewing the article and DIRECTV’s response, Circle City Broadcasting believes several important facts and pieces of context need to be clarified,” the company said. “DirecTV’s characterization of our proposal is false and misleading. DirecTV claims Circle City Broadcasting is seeking a deal at a cost ‘nearly double’ what WRTV’s previous owner charged. That is false and misleading. We are not asking for anywhere close to double what DirecTV paid WRTV’s previous owner [Scripps] to carry WRTV.”
Circle City Broadcasting also asserts that it seeking less compensation for WISH-TV and WNDY-TV than DirecTV paid their previous owner [Nexstar Media Group] seven years ago. Yet, the company asserts, “DirecTV continues to compensate large media companies for other CW and MyNetworkTV affiliates while resisting comparable treatment for our locally owned stations.”
The tussle between McCoy’s Circle City and DirecTV nearly dates to his company’s early April 2019 purchase of WISH-TV and WNDY-TV for $42.5 million. At 11:59pm Eastern on January 31, 2020, the two stations were effectively blocked from DirecTV subscribers as a new retransmission consent accord could not be reached.
Today, WISH-TV and WNDY-TV remain absent from DirecTV lineups in Indianapolis; WISH-8 had been a CBS affiliate until 2014, while WNDY was a UPN affiliate prior to the creation of the MyNetwork TV network. DirecTV has asserted in its negotiations over the years that WISH-TV and WNDY-TV are “less popular” stations than others in Indianapolis. To that, Circle City said, “Audience size alone does not determine the value a local television station provides to its community.”
The company then touted how it produces more than 90 hours of local news and entertainment programming each week, while WNDY provides “significant local sports programming to Indiana viewers.”
Asked on Monday what the status of conversations between Circle City and DirecTV was, McCoy told RBR+TVBR, “Simply put, the fair market value of retransmission consent for my stations, including the Big Four network affiliates serving Indianapolis, has already been established through numerous marketplace transactions between broadcasters and MVPDs over the last seven years including Direct TV. That marketplace evidence, not my opinion, defines fair market value. 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 concluded its viewer advisory regarding DirecTV by explaining that, in its view, it is not seeking special treatment.
“We are asking to be treated fairly and for our locally owned stations and the programming they provide to Hoosiers to be valued appropriately,” the company said. “Circle City Broadcasting remains committed to working with DirecTV to reach a fair agreement and prevent any interruption of service for viewers.”
With the direct broadcast satellite service provider clear in its views regarding retransmission consent and “fair value,” McCoy remains vigilant in his desire to get what he thinks WRTV, and his two other stations, are worth.
For DirecTV subscribers in Indianapolis, the hope is that McCoy’s willingness to compromise — and DirecTV’s openness to a fresh start — can come to fruition sooner rather than later.
