On August 3, it completed its $15.8 million purchase of “ABC36,” making this Lexington, Ky., broadcast TV station a sibling to its NBC affiliate in the Kentucky market. Approval of the deal came from the FCC after DirecTV attempt to thwart it — on the grounds that Commission approval of a duopoly would lead to more difficult retransmission consent fee compensation talks.
Perhaps DirecTV Chief Content Officer Rob Thun is a soothsayer. In a sudden move, “ABC36” disappeared from the other direct broadcast satellite service provider’s local TV lineup late Wednesday. The E.W. Scripps Co. is steamed.
As of 8:30pm Eastern on September 30, Dish — which just scored a big debt repayment reduction in a Houston federal bankruptcy court — had effectively blocked WTVQ-TV in Lexington, Ky. from its services in the Lexington-Fayette DMA.
As Cincinnati-headquartered Scripps sees it, the move is “in clear violation of the agreement Scripps currently has in place with Dish following Scripps’ acquisition of WTVQ earlier this year.”
But, is that the case? As Dish may see it, the retransmission consent agreement associated with WTVQ may be that negotiated by its previous owner, Morris Multimedia. Just because WTVQ is now a sibling to Scripps’ WLEX-TV doesn’t mean Dish’s agreement with WTVQ is now void, and replaced by that of WLEX … right?
That’s a question with an answer that will likely not come easily, with Dish’s paying subscribers in the Kentucky market losing access to ABC programming that includes a variety of pro sports leagues’ play-by-play.
